Edmonton city council talks tough enforcement during parking bans

Edmonton city council is discussing tougher parking enforcement during winter and spring street cleaning, and that might include towing vehicles. Some Edmontonians CityNews spoke to say they don’t want it.

“People are already struggling with inflation and job losses, and it’s not fair for people to pay for extra fines are extra tickets. The city is already making enough money,” said one Edmontonian CityNews spoke to.

Snowfall and parking bans may feel far away, but on Monday, Edmonton city council voted to tow vehicles during winter street clearing if they’re not moved. That’s on top of a $250 ticket.

Vehicles that aren’t moved will be towed to a nearby street. But only for winter street cleaning, not spring.

The city currently has just five bylaw officers issuing tickets during parking bans, and no towing.

But despite that, Edmonton issued over 5,800 tickets during the latest spring street cleaning in April and May — that’s nearly five times the amount from the year before.

But Edmonton’s mayor told CityNews that the city isn’t seeing all of that revenue.

“Even from the ticketing, even from a traffic ticket that is issued by a police officer, a portion of that actually goes to the province. And in this case, if a ticket is appealed, a portion of that revenue goes to the province as well,” said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.

Councillor Erin Rutherford said she has concerns about the $250 fine being too steep, but adds she’s in favour of more options to move non-compliant vehicles. Saying she’s hearing more complaints about street cleaning not being thorough enough.

“I’m in favour of the towing component, I think it’s really important in areas where you have too many cars and the machinery can’t get in. We can actually move those cars,” said Rutherford.

In Edmonton’s Highlands neighbourhood on Monday afternoon, those who live in the area say they would rather see tougher enforcement on other things during the winter months.

“It’s people that don’t shovel their sidewalks, I wish they’d give them a fine, because we like to go for a walk, and it’s difficult sometimes,” said one Edmontonian.

City council approved a $100,000 funding package to tow and ticket vehicles. Council will make a final decision on that during fall budget adjustments.