It’s cheaper to get a ticket than paying to park in some Toronto lots. The city wants to change that

Drivers could soon face stiffer penalties as the city moves to close a gaping loophole.

Thestar.com
Sept. 26, 2023
Ben Spurr

Toronto drivers who use parking lots without paying could soon face stiffer penalties, as the city moves to close a gaping loophole that can make it cheaper to get a ticket than to fork over the posted rate.

The current fine for parking illegally in city- and privately-owned off-street lots is $30. The problem: that’s less expensive than rates charged at city parking lots at sites like Exhibition Place, which can go up to $45 during popular events.

According to a report going to next Monday’s general government committee, there have been “many instances” in which drivers “prefer taking their chances with incurring a parking violation notice” rather than paying the rate up front.

Last year the number of parking violation notices in city lots increased to over 106,000 from the almost 95,000 in 2021, while violations in private lots jumped to about 377,000 from about 320,000 the year before, the report states.

Staff are recommending more than doubling the fine for parking without paying, to $75. If approved by council, the higher fines would apply to thousands of spaces at all city- and privately-owned parking facilities, including at TTC stations, Exhibition Place, and commercial lots. The new fees would go into effect in December, and mirror an increase applied to high demand city-owned Green P lots in 2021.

Coun. Paul Ainslie, who chairs the general government committee, said the harsher fine is fair, and on par with fees imposed by neighbouring municipalities.

“So I’m hoping this closes things off and people will pay to park the way they should,” said Ainslie (Ward 24, Scarborough Guildwood).

Don Boyle, CEO of Exhibition Place, said his organization approached the city about toughening parking penalties. Last December, its board approved the new rate of $45 for special events like the Honda Indy, Caribbean Carnival, and games at BMO Field.

“The fine at the moment is outdated,” he said.

Exhibition Place has about 5,600 spaces, and Boyle estimated that on regular days about 10 to 15 per cent of drivers don’t pay. During major events it’s less of a problem because the facility sets up kiosks that prevent drivers from entering without paying.

However, Exhibition Place is ditching the kiosks for app-based payments that will effectively operate on the honour system, which will make it “really important” to have higher fines in place, Boyle said.

Revenue from parking violations goes to the city, but a spokesperson for the municipality stressed the goal of the new fine structure is to encourage compliance with parking rules, and there is no estimate for how much additional money the changes could generate.

While the bigger fines would make breaking the rules at parking lots more costly, one councillor is pushing the city to also hike penalties for not paying for on-street spaces. Fines at curbside spots remain at $30 and haven’t been adjusted for years.

Last week at a meeting of the city’s infrastructure and environment committee, Coun. Dianne Saxe (Ward 11, University-Rosedale) argued that doling out “piddly fines” for on-street spaces spots reduces available parking for other drivers, deprives the city of much-needed revenue, and is unfair to TTC users who face tickets of up to $425 for riding without paying.

Saxe argued the city can’t wait to strengthen the “grossly inadequate” on-street penalties, and asked staff to report back on the issue in January, ahead of a sweeping review aimed at modernizing Toronto parking policies that is expected to be complete later in 2024.