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Source: Today's Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...id=968332188492

City loses parking fine battle
Ruling allows private firms to issue tickets
`This is the wild west,' says Howard Moscoe
May 25, 2006. 05:23 AM
PAUL MOLONEY AND VANESSA LU
CITY HALL BUREAU


A judge has quashed a City of Toronto bylaw banning private companies from issuing parking tickets.

That means parking tickets issued without city or police involvement are perfectly legal.

"This is the wild west. It means that any person in this city can print up a phony parking ticket, demand money for it, put it on somebody's windshield, sit back and wait for the money to roll in," said Councillor Howard Moscoe. The city is considering its appeal options.

Parking tickets are big business. The city issues approximately 3 million parking tickets a year, and manages to collect fines on about 82 per cent on them. That translates into about $80 million in revenues every year.

For years, companies have been issuing their own parking tickets on private property and keeping the money. Then in July 2004, city council passed a bylaw making it illegal to do so.

Under the bylaw, if owners of a mall or apartment building wanted to punish a parking violator, they had to use municipal licensing enforcement officers who then issued city tickets — complete with the city's logo. And all the fine money would go to the city, not the private firm, which led to charges that the city was simply looking for a cash grab. Two firms, Municipal Parking Corp. and Imperial Parking, challenged the bylaw.

Late Tuesday, Ontario Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Stewart issued two separate rulings against the city.

The city argued its bylaw was designed to protect consumers, but the judge argued that illegal trespassers are not consumers in need of protection.

Because the city was enforcing its bylaw, Municipal Parking's lawyer Louis Sokolov said his client has been charged. "All of those charges are now in limbo."

In the Impark case, the judge ruled that the parking company was allowed to charge drivers for use of parking spots if they failed to pay for them.

Moscoe argued that the city is providing a public service by enforcing parking requirements on private lots, alleging some use questionable practices to collect their fines.

Yet another reason I almost never park downtown, and if I do I call in a favour and park inside the tow impound lot I used to work at.

Say you pay for a spot. Now say the owner has a parking enforcement company go through the lot and he "misses" your valid parking slip. You end up with a ticket for $40-60 bucks and also end up with the possibility of a court date to fight the "ticket".

Years ago, they used to be called MLEOs - Municipal Law Enforcement Officers. Except, they weren't "officers" at all... they went to a couple of meetings, passed a Toronto Police background check and were allowed to write phony tickets at the request of property owners. Big business getting them towed too.

I've got all kinds of inside dirt on this stuff if anyone wants it... just PM me.

That is by far the worst idea ever!! London is already being taken over by Impark (worst company ever) and parking prices for downtown London are already sky rocketing, we have soo many parking enforcers already I cannot even imagine getting a ticket for this, not cool!!

jen_deans,May 26 2006, 10:03 AM Wrote:That is by far the worst idea ever!! London is already being taken over by Impark (worst company ever) and parking prices for downtown London are already sky rocketing, we have soo many parking enforcers already I cannot even imagine getting a ticket for this, not cool!!
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Jen - a lot of the parking companies in London do not enforce their "fake" tickets. They certainly cannot affect your licence renewals. Their only route to collect the money would be a collections agency or small claims court, both of which are expensive options for the parking companies to persue, unless you owed them a ton of money.

It really would turn out to be a he said/she said battle if it wound up in court, as the tickets arent issued by anyone with "real" authority or under any sworn oaths/etc.

There are lots of lots downtown that arent enforced - the small one with meters behind Starbucks at Richmond/Central for instance. I've parked there for hours on end and never received a ticket.

green p

problem solved.

I dont remember there beeing too many green p parking spots in downtown, but I do know of the one in Yorkville that I usually park at. Toronto seems desperate for money..