Is it possible the City will move to eliminate the most outrageous “gotcha” feature of metered parking in Toronto? We all know that if we misjudge the time required to do an errand, have lunch or whatever, the penalty is $30. Bang. The days of pay as you go parking are gone. The civilized idea that you could simply pay a makeup fee at the regular rate has been stomped on like a bug. But wait. An electronic means of paying a top-up fee has been tested and is now in use in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver. Councillor Karen Stintz said this week that Toronto is considering a plan that would allow drivers to pay for parking or replenish their meters by using a smart phone. Drivers would pre-register, phone the number on the meter, and buy more time by redialing the number. If a parking officer wanted to issue a ticket he would have to check the electronic time clock to see if the driver was overdue. A story in the Mark News says that Toronto Parking has been investigating the option for a year to see if it’s financially feasible. This will test City bosses morality. Why give drivers a way of avoiding that delicious $30 tax grab? We will see. Many thanks to the reader who commented (Click comments) for correcting us on the amount of the street parking fine. And of course those who don’t pay at all deserve a fine but we believe most people pay. It’s the practical problem of getting back to the meter in time that makes paying difficult.
actually, if your “meter” on Bayview runs over, it’s $30. Which, yes, is too much if you miss it by a few minutes. But for those who don’t bother paying? It’s about right. It’s $60 if you park where “you should not” . . .ie. North side of Manor Road, where when cars do park, it causes significant issues.