Parking ticket in Toronto. (Stan Behal/Toronto Sun files)
Parking illegally could soon cost more in Toronto.
A staff report going to the public works committee next week recommends hiking the fines for some parking offences in an effort to improve traffic flow.
The report suggests raising the penalty for parking in a “no-parking” zone from $40 to $50.
If approved by the committee and then by council, the fine for failing to park or failing to stop parallel to the curb would go up from $15 to $30.
Tickets for stopping on or over a sidewalk, double parking and stopping in an HOV or transit lane would all rise from $90 to $150.
Transportation Services staff predict that raising the cost of just the “no-parking” fine in Toronto by $10 will improve parking compliance by 10%, which would be around 53,000 fewer parking offences.
Hiking the fines could lead to up to $5.52 million in extra revenue for the city, the report notes.
“However, the fines are implemented to improve traffic flow, and therefore successful implementation will not result in significant additional revenues,” the report states.
PARKING TICKET COMPARISON
How does the cost of a Toronto parking ticket stack up to other cities?
Believe it or not, it’s pretty cheap to get nailed in a Hogtown no-parking zone compared to six other cities around North America.
Here’s the ticket cost comparison:
- Toronto: $40 (staff propose raising that to $50)
- Ottawa: $70
- Vancouver: $80
- Calgary: $50
- New York: $115
- Los Angeles: $171
- Chicago: $75
— Source: City of Toronto
Source: Toronto Sun