VIP parking at Queen’s Quay Loblaws for limousines only

Vehicles that overstay their welcome in the covered parking lot at Loblaws on Queen’s Quay are sure to get a ticket, unless it’s a limousine.

The store is just down the street from the Toronto Star, which makes it a handy place for me and my colleagues to grab lunch. They make good sandwiches and I love the lobster bisque.

A few weeks ago, I noticed a guy who looked like he was in charge of the parking area, pointing out vehicles to a city parking enforcement officer who was ticketing them.

I thought it was curious that the city was ticketing vehicles in a private parking lot and asked them about it.

The parking officer said nothing but the guy in charge said the cars had been there too long, a violation of Loblaws parking rules, and that the city is responsible for ticketing them.

They made an efficient team and underscored that Loblaws means business if it finds people who aren’t shoppers are using their parking.

While the ticketing was going on, I also noticed quite a few black Lincolns and GM SUVs that had livery plates parked in the covered area and were clearly limousines.

I assumed the drivers were all shopping for groceries, or maybe picking up some duds in the Joe Fresh store next to it, until I went back Tuesday and found the lot literally crawling with limousines and their drivers.

There were so many that it looked like a staging area, like that limousine lot on the way into Pearson Airport, with drivers standing around in groups, making small talk in the shade provided by the deck atop the parking area.

I walked around the lot just after 1 p.m. and counted three taxis and 19 limousines, most of which had license plates with the word BLOOM on them, along with a number.

An hour later, many of the same limousines were still parked in the same spots, but not a ticket on any of them.

Why would the parking lot manager be so diligent about ensuring that regular drivers were ticketed for staying too long, but seem unaware that limousines were hogging a lot of the parking?

Just wondering.