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| Councillor Shelley Carroll |
Councillor Shelley Carroll (Ward 33) said something odd at the Toronto Parking Authority meeting the other day. The subject was a proposed extension of the five-minute grace period on parking tickets all the way out to ten minutes. Staff had said that an extension would probably cause fewer complaints. According to the Toronto Star, this is what Councillor Carroll said in opposing the extension: “When we’re advocating for our residents in the community, I advocate for the law-abiding ones first … I don’t spend a lot of time working out how to make it easier for people who are actually in contravention of a bylaw or a law.” No doubt the Councillor didn’t intend to sound quite as mean-spirited as that remark suggests. We expect she’s a very nice lady. But zero-tolerance sentiment on the subject of parking tickets is frankly misplaced. We’ve said before that the mind-set in much local government is to see the public as a money-hoarding enemy. Parking control isn’t seen as a service related to the convenience of the public — it’s about the strictest form of tax collection. Break the law by leaving your car where it shouldn’t be and well get you. So, if your dentist takes a little too long to finish up your teeth, or if you forget your hat somewhere and have to go back to get it, or if your kid loses track of time in the Gelato shop — well, that’s your problem. We have no interest in the unreliable nature of your life. We just want the money. As it is, traffic court Crown Attorneys throw out hundreds of parking tickets (and moving violations too) mostly because they don’t think they’re fair. Toronto’s “gotcha” parking ticket mentality is a product of a City that has spent itself silly. In it’s desperate attempt to somehow stay afloat, bureaucrats and politicians have come to believe the crisis is somebody else’s fault. Yours. We say parking control should be a service that keeps a reasonable turn-over in parking places when traffic a heavy. When it isn’t, back off. In one of many previous posts we discuss the unique nature of the parking tax. It’s the only one known that requires a citizen to guess whether the length of her errands today will coincide exactly with the expiry of the parking meter ticket.