Toronto parking fines jump on Thursday

Fines rise to $150 for four types of parking offences as of April 1; Mayor John Tory says the move will fight congestion.

Thestar.com
March 29, 2016
By David Rider

Motorists in Toronto face steeper fines for a host of parking offences starting Thursday.

Fines will jump to $150 for blocking sidewalks; double parking; standing in TTC zones; and blocking lanes reserved for high-occupancy vehicles.

In a statement, Mayor John Tory said the bigger fines are part of Toronto’s efforts to ease congestion by cracking down on illegal parking.

“By attaching a real price to blocking lanes of traffic with illegal parking, we will reduce congestion,” Tory said.

The cited a 2008 study showing that congestion-caused delays and vehicle costs hit consumers in the pocketbook to the tune of $3.3 billion per year

However, just because the fines are levied doesn’t necessarily mean they will be paid.

Last September, Toronto quietly cancelled about 880,000 long-unpaid parking tickets worth about $20 million - including some for the offences now becoming costlier - citing limited court capacity and the difficulty of assuring citizens’ rights to a prompt trial.

Companies that rack up large numbers of tickets can see some of their fines tossed out through “global resolution.” That process requires companies with fleet vehicles to pay all fines incurred on rush-hour routes, in fire routes and in disabled parking spaces.

The remaining cancelled tickets were for parking in areas labelled no-stopping, no-standing and no-parking. City prosecutors and company representatives work to reach agreements that see some of these remaining tickets tossed out and others paid in full.

A recent city report revealed that Tory’s push for stepped-up enforcement for rush hour parkers saw the number of towed vehicles double-end in 2015 compared to the previous year.

However, the total number of parking tickets issued last year - revenues used to bolster increasing cash-strapped city budgets - continued to decrease for the fourth year in a row.