Meter hogs face tougher fines
Parking-meter cheaters hoping to skirt the rules around staying too long in a spot could soon be faced with tougher city bylaws.
City council has authorized staff to amend its traffic bylaw to stop vehicles from parking in the same metered space in a time-restricted area for a period of time after having previously parked at that location.
The change would mean vehicles would have to wait at least two hours before parking in a previously held spot.
The bylaws department has encountered situations where people parking downtown at metered spaces are repeat metering and avoiding tickets while remaining in the parking space beyond the maximum time.
In some cases, the drivers are moving the vehicle slightly forward or back, creating doubt whether the vehicle had actually left the stall.
The intent of the bylaw is to free up parking spaces to keep a constant turnover of spaces downtown.
“The fundamental premise of the meters in the downtown core wasn’t to generate revenue. It’s to create turnover of spaces,” said Len Hrycan, director of community and corporate affairs.
The fine for repeat metering is $50, with no discount for paying early.
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