Parking in Snow Emergency Zone

[Salos Dafee]

Once upon a time, I parked (a car) under a sign saying "No Parking During Snow Emergency". Streets were free of snow.
I returned to find a few inches of snow, far from "emergency" conditions in my opinion, and a ticket for "parking where
prohibited during Snow Emergency".
I elected to defend myself. Perhaps the cop won't show; he did. Perhaps the cop will leave out the date or time or some
other vital component necessary to convict; he didn't.
I asked, "How did you know that a snow emergency had been declared for (name of street) on that date?"
The cop replied, "My sergeant told me."
The magistrate butted in to ask the cop, "Is your sergeant present in the courtroom?" and the cop replied in the negative,
so the magistrate told the cop to leave the stand, which he did. This was my cue to stay quiet, which I did. The magistrate
explained that testimony quoting an absent person is "hearsay" and carries no weight in a courtroom, so in essence the
cop had no way to show that a Snow Emergency existed, so the case was dismissed for lack of evidence of a violation.
The magistrate tore a strip off me for disobeying the sign during a serious storm, but it didn't hurt a bit!
(This was a while ago; the magistrate was Dnieper, a notorious "Hangin' Judge" if ever there was one. I smiled at him.)

In case you get the same sort of ticket, consider defending it with the above in mind. Suppose the Sergeant had been present;
I would have asked the Sergeant the same question, because Sergeants do not officially declare a Snow Emergency. Unless
someone took the witness stand and said, "I am the Lord of Snow Emergencies, and I declared one for that date and place.",
I reckon the last witness questioned would necessarily resort to hearsay, and there is my dismissal.

To know Dnieper, read this: My curious adventures in Dnieperland

Now go do something more worthwhile than reading my nonsense!
Salos Dafee

 

[Baggsy]

In Montreal they supposedly have flashing blue lights. I never saw any blue lights. Parked my car overnight. The next morning, it was gone. I phoned the police to report it stolen, and was told that they had towed it around the corner. Didn't I see the blue lights flashing? No, I didn't. When I got around the corner, the rear bumper was lying on the ground behind the car. Bumper weighed over 100 pounds, but fit in the back seat. Insurance was given all the information to sue the city of Montreal, but I'm not sure if they followed up or not.

 

[Malks]

I think you got lucky on two accounts. 1. Your car wasn't towed and impounded, and 2. the ticket was withdrawn.

Snow emergencies are declared by the City and communicated by the media whenever one is called and the JP knows this. Snow routes have permanent "No Parking - Snow Route" signs posted along those roads. In addition there are cardboard signs that get tied to parking metres, trees and other things along the side of the road once a snow emergency is declared.

In the future I wouldn't recommend parking on a snow route because you would likely get towed and would not beat the ticket.

 

[Lyndsay]

Good to see you're still around and posting Salos. I always get worried when I don't see your name for a while.

 

[Salos Dafee]

Thank you, Lyndsay. I am no longer very close to the GTA, but I still use the M part of it a lot.
In a few hours, I will ride 25 miles, mainly on an Interstate Highway, to get my teeth (yeah, both of 'em)
cleaned, then I will walk my dog, then back on the bike to go and play bridge with a friend.

Salos Dafee

 

[hedo2002]

Had the officer been, "on his game", I doubt the ticket would have been tossed today. The crown "should" have asked the officer, if the information was given to him as part of the "shift briefing" (which is how the information is normally passed from supervisors to Constables). If it is done in this matter it is not considered hearsay, but rather, SOP, (Standard Operating Procedure), But normally the city also posts, temp signs to indicate snow emergency.

In today's world it is also communicated via traditional and social media. If a person doesn't know one has been declared, I wish I had time to visit their world...lol But, it is NOT the police who determine the existence of a "snow emergency" but rather the Municipality's Transportation Department. However they ARE strictly enforced to permit efficient, snow removal. If the city ever does anything efficiently.....lol

 

[nobbie48]

On the subject of parking in snow, there used to be a bylaw where you couldn't park further than 12 inches from the curb.

In winter, depending how the roads are plowed it is often not possible to park that close. I don't know how much slack the police give on the matter.

In some cases there is blatent inconsideration. Parking two feet or more away from the snow drift so a passenger can exit isn't necessary. Let them out where they can and park as close as possible to the curb. Sometimes our street, which is not particulary narrow, becomes one way.