Toronto city council approves increased fines for more than 100 parking violations
Toronto councillors have voted in favour of increasing fines for more than 100 parking violations.
During Wednesday's meeting, city council debated a staff report that proposed hiking penalty amounts for 125 offences related to parking, stopping and standing.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Coun. Jennifer McKelvie, chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee, introduced a motion that revised some of the penalty amounts in the initial staff report.
"I think we quickly realized in discussions with council colleagues that maybe we need to go with more of a Goldilocks approach, as we had some bears that thought that the fines were too high, and we had some bears that thought that the fines were too low, and I think in the end city staff have come back with fines that are really just right," said McKelvie, whose motion was approved 20-1.
The fine for parking in bike lanes, for example, will increase from $150 to $200, while not paying the required fee at parking machines would jump from $30 to $50. The approved increases will come into effect on Aug. 1.
Council also ordered the general manager of transportation services to review all parking fines in five years and report back on those amounts adjusted for inflation.
McKelvie acknowledged that there will be pushback on the fines but said residents have an option to follow the rules and park legally.
"The thing that we really want is that if we didn't collect any money on parking offences in the City of Toronto, it would be a good day, because everybody was following the road, the rules of the road. Everybody was doing their part to keep people safe. Everybody was doing their part to make sure that we're easing congestion on the roads," she said.
According to the report, the current fines are out of step with the penalties for parking violations in nearby municipalities.
The report stated that most penalty amounts currently range between $15 and $60, which are "generally lower" than the fines for similar offences in surrounding jurisdictions.
"Most penalty amounts have been left generally unchanged (in Toronto) since their enactment and are not automatically adjusted for inflation," the report read.
"The recommended increase in penalty amounts will ensure better alignment with penalty amounts in other jurisdictions, encourage compliance, ensure certain offences are set at levels commensurate with the seriousness of the offence, and ensure that offences within the same categories are set at the same penalty amount for consistency."
Based on the volume of tickets issued in 2023, the city could see an additional $62 million in revenue as a result of the increased fines, though staff expect that actual revenue would be somewhere between $40 and $50 million.
The recommendations come after fines increased from $30 to $75 for drivers caught illegally parking on municipal and private property back in December.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.