Toronto police have issued over $2M in tickets to drivers for parking on snow routes
CBC
Toronto police officers issued more than $2 million in parking tickets to drivers who parked their vehicles along designated snow removal routes in the last two weeks of January, data shows.
Police parking enforcement officers handed 21,508 tickets to drivers who parked on snow routes in the city from Jan. 15 to Jan. 30, with each ticket carrying a fine of $100, according to the Toronto Police Service.
News of the fines comes as the city continues to clean up after a major winter storm on Jan. 25 dumped 56 centimetres of snow on Toronto. Vehicles were ticketed on routes where city crews have been working to remove large piles of snow.
"The roads must be clear for the city to be able to remove the snow," Mike Harrison, manager of Toronto police parking enforcement unit, said in an interview on Wednesday. The city temporarily closes down parking on certain streets to make way for snow removal equipment.
The city declared a major snowstorm condition and significant weather event on Jan. 15 and again on Jan. 25. The latter ended on Tuesday.
In addition to tickets for parking on a snow route, police issued 152 tickets for other snow route infractions, such as parking on streetcar tracks on a snow route, and parking a vehicle that blocks the passage of a streetcar on a snow route. Both infractions carry fines of $500.
In total, police issued tickets worth $2,193,600 for snow route infractions in the last two weeks of January.
But the tickets aren't aimed at generating revenue, Harrison says.
"Parking enforcement isn't about the violation or the fine amount. It's really about the enforcement piece," Harrison said. "Revenue is just sort of a byproduct of enforcement."
Harrison said parking enforcement officers are always busy but worked especially hard in the last two weeks of January.
City crews post temporary orange “No Parking — Snow Removal” signs in snowbanks where snow removal is planned to take place within 24 to 48 hours.
"Drivers are encouraged to look out for these signs because vehicles left parked in these locations may be ticketed $100 or towed as they can interfere with snow removal operations," the city said in an email Wednesday.
Harrison said drivers need to be aware of the rules of the road.
"As the city gets more used to major weather declarations — we had this happen last year and twice again this year — people will get more familiar with checking the signs to make sure that they're not parking in a snow route during a major weather event," Harrison said.
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