Latest news with #parkingtickets
CTV News
a day ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Bylaw officers stepping up parking tickets across Ottawa
More parking tickets are being handed out in Ottawa this year compared to last and it's not just happening downtown. CTV's Natalie van Rooy reports. It appears bylaw officers are stepping up enforcement in the capital. New data obtained by CTV News Ottawa shows more parking tickets are being handed out this year compared to 2024. It's not just downtown, drivers in the suburbs say they're finding more and more unwelcome pieces of paper on their windshields. Armaan Bhir and his brother have received hundreds of dollars worth of parking tickets on Via Verona Avenue in Barrhaven. 'I was parking right outside my house. I think I might have probably put it on about $400 to $500 in just the last two years,' said Bhir. He said that includes tickets for both himself and his brother. They've been fined for different reasons, whether parking too long on the street or a tire touching the curb. It's frustrating for the Barrhaven resident who shares the driveway with his family. 'They can at least knock on the door if it's half a curb or something,' he said. 'I've never gotten a warning or a knock on the door.' Bhir said he warms his friends before they visit to be mindful of street parking and offers space on his driveway if there is any. Bylaw officers are on track to issue more fines for time limit parking infractions in 2025 compared to last year. In 2024, officers handed out 35,432 tickets to vehicles parked in excess of the permitted time on an unsigned street. So far this year, officers have issued 20,010 tickets for parking in excess of the time limit on streets without parking limit signs. 'I'm allowed to park for three hours, I may have been a little bit over it, but again, it's absurd around here,' said John Eaton, who received a ticket on Via Verona Avenue a few weeks ago. Whether or not there's a sign posted, the rules for street parking in Ottawa are consistent across the downtown core and in the suburbs. During the week, you can't park more than three hours from 7 a.m. to 7p.m. in one place. On weekends, it's six hours. The fine for parking more than posted time limits is $70. It's $50 if you pay right away. 'My parents extended the driveway, so we'd have more room to park and not have to worry about that, but it does become like a bit of a concern when we have visitors over and stuff like that,' said Lara Simard, who lives in Barrhaven. Simard says parking tickets all along Via Verona Avenue happens all the time. 'My boyfriend was parked for a little over three hours in the winter and got a ticket,' she said. 'Bylaw comes here all the time, my grandma got one a few times as well.' Bylaw was not available for an on-cameras interview, but in a statement to CTV News said in part: 'Bylaw is not currently conducting a targeted parking enforcement blitz; however, officers continue to proactively and reactively enforce overtime parking regulations to support parking turnover and maintain traffic flow in residential areas.
CTV News
a day ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Parking tickets in the suburbs
More parking tickets are being handed out in Ottawa this year compared to last and it's not just happening downtown. CTV's Natalie van Rooy reports.
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
Fredericton parents fighting $125 parking ticket at youth football practice
Social Sharing Jillian and Jody Shealy have spent the past two decades cheering their kids on from the sidelines of just about every sport that's offered in the city, taking them to rinks, fields and arenas across the greater Fredericton area. And they've never gotten a parking ticket. But one night last month, the Shealys were shocked to find a $125 ticket tucked under their windshield wiper — along with about a dozen other cars — while parked in their usual spot along the driveway next to the Scotiabank South Turf. When comparing notes with other families attending the football practice, Jillian Shealy said they realized parking enforcement officers "were coming back every hour on the hour to catch new people." "It just quite honestly seemed like a money grab from middle-class people," she said. "It's a very ugly thing to do to tax-paying citizens." Shealy is one of several parents fighting the parking tickets, arguing there is insufficient signage along one side of the entrance to warn it was designated as a fire lane. The city's bylaw states signs must be "spaced no less than 25 metres apart." The main parking lot is often full, she said, so parents regularly park on the side of the driveway that doesn't have any posted "fire lane" signs. WATCH | 'It's a money grab': Parents say youth sports under attack with city's stricter parking rules 4 hours ago Duration 3:26 Shealy said she understands why fire lanes need to be kept clear, but said nobody knew it was a fire lane. After years of using the driveway as overflow parking, she said everyone was caught off guard. "If you have any respect for your citizens, launch a warning campaign," she said. Mobile parking unit Nathan Doucette, Transit and Parking Operations supervisor for the City of Fredericton, said he's "not sure why exactly those signs are missing. It could be because of vandalism. It could be because they're missing or stolen." He said the city is "currently working with other city departments just to review our signage to ensure that it is up to date." "If there's any deficiencies, we'll make sure that we get that looked at immediately," he said. In 2017, the city contracted a third-party security company to deal with parking violations outside the downtown. In January 2023, the city switched to GardaWorld, with mobile enforcement officers working Monday to Saturday, from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Municipal bylaw fines related to parking brought in more than $380,000 last year, from GardaWorld and City of Fredericton staff. Doucette said "there's no real explanation for why they're getting tickets for the first time," but said the city continuously works with the contractor "to ensure that they are offering the best amount of service that we expect throughout the city." He said it comes down to public safety. "We want to keep what's deemed as a fire lane 100 per cent accessible to fire and emergency vehicles. Because in the case of a Grant-Harvey, where you could have several thousand people attend an event, we want to make sure that the safety of communities are the number 1 priority." Doucette said there's lots of parking near recreational areas, but that "it just may not be right next to the field that you want to be at and may not be right next to the building you need to be at. "We just ask that if you are going to park, you just be mindful of signage, be mindful of where you're parking. That way, in case we have an emergency, we can get the emergency vehicles in there and not have to worry about people being illegally parked." Jody Shealy believes the fines were a heavy-handed approach for new enforcement. He said he'll be fighting the ticket out of principle. "We're certainly the type of people that like to fly under the radar and not speed, not park in places we're not supposed to park. But when you don't even know that you're doing something wrong, that's, I think, just the unfairness of it all."
CTV News
28-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Ottawa rolling out new system to deal with parking ticket disputes. Here's what you need to know
A parking ticket is seen on the windshield of a car in Ottawa, Ont. (CTV News Ottawa) Ottawa motorists soon won't have to go to court to fight their parking tickets, as the city proceeds with a new system to deal with ticket disputes. The City of Ottawa will be rolling out its new administrative penalty system in June to manage and adjudicate parking ticket infractions, with plans to extend it to photo radar and red-light camera tickets in the future. Screening and hearing officers appointed by the City of Ottawa will deal with ticket disputes. Under the system, drivers who receive a parking ticket can either pay the fine or request a review by the screening officer. Following the decision by the screening officer, the offender can request a review by a hearing officer. CTV News Ottawa looks at what you need to know about the administrative penalty system. What is the administrative penalty system? The City of Ottawa says the administrative penalty system (APS) changes how 'certain bylaw violations are handled.' 'APS allows the City to manage the ticket review process independently without relying on the Provincial Offences Court.' What is the difference between the administrative penalty system and the Provincial Offences Act? Under the current Provincial Offences Act, parking, red light camera and photo radar camera tickets are handled in provincial courts. Provincial judges and staff manage the dispute process, and the city says there are 'long wait times' for ticket reviews. Under the APS, tickets will be handled by screening officers and hearing officers employed by the City of Ottawa. The city says the new system will be 'faster, more flexible scheduling.' According to the city, the administrative penalty system will reduce the delays in the provincial court system, speed up ticket reviews and 'frees up provincial court time for serious cases.' A city report last year said the new administrative penalty system will see disputes over tickets heard within a few weeks or months and lower municipal costs by 35 per cent. How does the system work? When you receive a parking ticket, you will have two options under the administrative penalty system. Pay the ticket online, by mail or at any Client Service Centre or Administrative Penalty System Service Centre Request a review of the ticket. Within 15 days of the ticket being issued, the vehicle owner can request a review with a city screening officer by completing a request form. When you submit a request for review with a city screening officer, the city says you should provide a written explanation and supporting documentation to demonstrate that either the offence was not committed or 'they are experiencing undue hardship.' Screening Review The screening review will be conducted by screening officers employed by the City of Ottawa. '(They) have been carefully trained to conduct the 'screening' review of the penalty by following standardized, consistent, and pre-established criteria in keeping with the bylaw that governs the APS program,' the city says. The screening officer has the authority to uphold, reduce, extend the time to pay the tie, or cancel the penalty based. 'This decision will be informed by the backup documentation from both the vehicle owner and the Parking Enforcement Officer,' the city says. Final review by a hearing officer The city says if a vehicle owner disagrees with the decision by the screening officer, you may request a final review with a hearing officer, who is appointed by council. The hearing officer will have 'previous experience' in the field of law, adjudication and/or in the interpretation and application of legislation, the city says. A request for a final review by a hearing officer must be submitted with 15 days of the initial screening review's decision date. 'An in-person hearing date and time will be issued to the vehicle owner,' the city says on its website. 'The hearing officer's decision to either uphold the penalty, reduce the penalty, extend the time to pay the penalty, or cancel the penalty is final. Neither the ticket holder nor the city can appeal the decision.' An in-person hearing will be held at the Provincial Offences Act and Administrative Penalty System Service Centre at the Mary Pitt Centre on Constellation Drive. Ottawa plans to appoint 10 hearing officers per year, starting in 2024, 2025 and 2026, with a total of 30 hearing officers available five to 10 days per month.
