Winter parking ban keeps tires moving
Overnight ban hours may be reduced after suggestion from councillor
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Mat Poole parks in a nearby driveway to avoid costly parking tickets. (Photo: Patrick Odell)
Dalhousie University student Mat Poole is ready to face Halifax's annual winter parking ban, but he needed a neighbour's help.
Poole, who lives with three other students, only has room for one car in his driveway. With three people in the house owning cars, he had to find a solution that wouldn't leave any of them out in the cold.
"My previous landlord has a driveway that can fit up to four cars," he said. "And he only lives two doors down."
Poole pays $30 each month to rent the driveway, a bargain compared to the $50 tickets issued by the city to motorists parked on the street overnight.
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Metro drivers were ticketed more than 10,000 times during the 2009-10 winter parking ban. (Photo: Patrick Odell)
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Other lots in the downtown area can charge more than double what Poole is paying, and the spots for rent are still subject to time constraints - often because the lots belong to local businesses who use them during the day.
Last year, Poole had to park in an alley near his house to get off the street. He says people who park in those locations have to worry about having their spots stolen by people looking for off-street parking.
"One time somebody was parked in my spot all night," he said. "So when I parked, I ended up blocking in a bunch of people in the alley."
Councillor suggests time change
Coun. Jennifer Watts, who represents Connaught-Quinpool, wants to reduce the hours of the ban. Councillors at Tuesday's regional council meeting voted to have staff explore the idea further.
The current ban prohibits drivers from parking on the street between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m., but Watts says 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. is a more reasonable timeframe.
"I've heard complaints particularly from early morning folks, who like to get up and go to the gym, or who work early morning shifts," Watts said. "Not being able to park on the street before 7 a.m. is not part of the reality of how people are living their lives."
Poole doesn't think that adjusting the hours will help students who live in houses without enough driveway space.
"What we need is more for overnight parking," he said. "I think an alternate side parking system would probably be the best [for that]."
Cities across Canada employ restrictions on vehicles parked overnight on the street during the winter. In Ottawa, motorists only have to move their vehicles when more than 7 cm of snow is forecast. Winnipeg designates certain streets for snow removal each night and alerts drivers with a map on its website.
During the course of the 2009-10 winter parking ban the Halifax Regional Municipality issued 10,503 tickets to motorists, accounting for $525,150 in fines. The current ban has been in effect since Dec. 14.
Dawn Sloane, councillor for downtown Halifax, says Watts' proposal doesn't do enough to help the people getting ticketed.
"We have an actual snow policy," she said. "If that is adhered to, there's no need for the ban."
Sloane says the ban is a "money grab" because there was a previous policy in place to remove cars from the streets when it snowed. Cars blocking the snowplows would be towed, not ticketed. She wants the city to revisit that as a possible alternative.
Watts, however, is not seeking wholesale change.
"What I'm looking for is a compromise that works for the winter season," she said. "When we don't have a whole lot of snow, is there a way to have some relaxation and still maintain the parking ban?"
Sloane says that's not a viable solution.
"Sometimes compromise just doesn't work," she said. "Why not go with the heavy hand? I think we need to really engage the tow truck guys and actually do something methodical instead of ticketing."
The current ban is scheduled to end on March 31. Poole says that while he is set for this winter, he sympathizes with those who can't find parking.
"I'm not really against the winter parking ban," he said. "[But] we got really fortunate."
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