Physician, heal thyself...

"Honest Officer - I just had to park here for a few minutes to run a small business errand!"

"Tell it to the judge, buddy. No exceptions."

In case you can't make out what's on the sign behind the minivan, here's a close-up:

Comments

[John B]

So where is the parking enforcement officer supposed to park while handing out tickets? Easy! He should be on a bike, or on foot.

[Chad]

I have asked a parking ticket guy about their ability to park wherever as they hand out tickets for the same offence..the answer? As a by-law enforcement vehicle, they are exempt from parking rules, much like a police car or fire truck, i guess. What bothers me more about this pic is why does the city need a full size van to hand out tickets? Perhaps to carry around refills for their hand held ticket printers?!?

[DJL]

The picture was taken on Yonge north of Sheppard. In that neighbourhood it's fairly common to see the parking enforcement vehicles parked illegally while giving out parking tickets. In the summer the parking people sometimes use bikes, but in the winter, it's all cars, all the time, all parked illegally.

It's kind of funny to watch them just before 4pm on weekdays when it becomes illegal to park on Yonge between 4-6pm. The parking people sit in their cars like vultures, with the tow trucks illegally parked behind them waiting for the clock to hit 4pm, then it's a mad dash to ticket and tow as many cars as possible before people can get out and move their cars. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to those people who are parking illegally during rush hour and blocking needed traffic lanes getting ticketed and towed, but it really is funny to watch. The annoying part is that by 4:30pm the enforcement people are gone, and all sorts of people begin to stop illegally in the curb lane waiting for people to come out of offices, subway stations and shops. From 4:30pm onwards there is zero enforcement of the no-stopping rule, and the reason for this is simple, it's impossible to for the parking person to start writing the ticket before the car pulls away to circle the block until the parking maid moves on. They stop enforcing the law because there's no way to make money doing it. Between 4:30pm - 6pm on Yonge street it becomes absolutely obvious that "Parking Enforcement" isn't about enforcement, it's about revenue generation. And if there's no easy way to generate revenue, there'll be no enforcement. Even if it means that the curb lane they cleared between 4-4:30pm is completely unusable due to stopped cars.

[Jim Kenzie]

Hi DJL:

Yeah, I guess the "PEARL" condo development sign was a dead giveaway.

Interesting observations on the process, and the 'No Stopping' issue.

Thank you!

Cheers,

Jim

[Jim Kenzie]

Hi Chad:

You're probably correct; the parking enforcement vehicles may indeed be exempt.

Except:

The firemen who park their fire engines 'illegally' are not starting fires.

The police who park their police cars 'illegally' are not robbing banks.

The EMS folks who park their ambulances 'illegally' are not having heart attacks.

Breaking the laws they're supposed to be enforcing? Do our city 'parents' who presumably make these laws and regulations not see the irony/idiocy here?

And yes, a full-size van is surely huge overkill. The van was labeled as belonging to a 'supervisor'; maybe he WAS bringing supplies to his minions, and thought he'd knock off a few perps on his way...

Cheers,

Jim

[John Frewen-Lord]

Back in the early 1990s, when I was visiting Toronto General Hospital, I parked on University Avenue, knowing that the tow trucks would be appearing at some point, but thinking I had until 4 pm to move my car. I casually mentioned this to the person I was visiting at around 3.40, and he said no, it's 3 pm!

I dashed out expecting my car to have been towed, but there it was, the ONLY car still parked there, but still there! To this day I cannot figure out why my car wasn't towed.