Item - 2019.GL5.17

The General Government and Licensing Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council increase the penalty amount from $15 to $30 for the "Park - Longer than 3 Hours" offence in Section 950-400D(5) of the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 950 (Traffic and Parking), with an implementation date of September 3, 2019.

2.  City Council amend the City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 610 (Penalties, Administration of), generally as set out in Attachment 2 to the report (May 6, 2019) from the General Manager, Transportation Services.

In response to direction from the General Government and Licensing Committee at the April 23, 2019 meeting, this report provides an overview of the existing parking penalty applicable for the violation, Park - Longer than 3 Hours, and recommends an increase in the penalty amount from $15 to $30.

Parking penalties are used to encourage compliance and increases in penalties leads to greater compliance. When reviewing the proposed increase in the current parking penalty, staff considered a number of factors, including a jurisdictional review, alternative parking options, and other mitigating factors to arrive at an appropriate penalty level. 

The review of other municipalities across Ontario found that Toronto's penalties tend to be higher than those of other municipalities. This is due to Toronto’s unique attributes, size, daytime vehicle and street occupancy, traffic density, and other factors such as being a major tourist hub. While many of Toronto's penalties are higher, Toronto's Park - Longer than 3 Hours penalty tends to be lower than other municipalities.

From an enforcement perspective, this offense is typically done on a complaint basis since most of the violations are committed on low-traffic volume, residential side streets. However, with the similar costs of off-street parking lots (ranging from $3 to $10 overnight in Toronto Parking Authority lots) and residential on-street permits ($9.76 plus HST for 24 hours), the penalty amount no longer serves as an adequate deterrent against parking longer than 3 hours.

Other considerations were also made in determining an appropriate penalty, including the seriousness of the offense (e.g., parking in a rush hour zone impacts traffic mobility more severely) and the fact that the offense is unsigned and not all drivers may know of the offense.

Based on all of these factors, staff recommend an increase in the penalty from $15 to $30.

The General Manager, Transportation Services, has consulted with the Deputy City Manager, Community and Social Services, the City Solicitor, the Director, Court Services, and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in the preparation of this report.