TORONTO – Careless parking is once again on the rise, and the city plans to crack down hard, Mayor John Tory said Wednesday.
Tory and Police Chief Mark Saunders announced a renewed tagging and towing blitz set to begin Oct. 5.
“I’ve noticed – and people have told me – that bad habits start to seep back into the system and the bad actors – once again – are choosing to selfishly block lanes of traffic during rush hour for their own purposes,” Tory said.
“Starting October the 5th, Toronto police will be launching a renewed blitz on city streets and will be aggressively ticketing and towing vehicles blocking major roadways.”
The mayor previously announced a parking blitz in January 2015 and since then, over 53,000 vehicles have been ticketed during rush hour.
Just under 11,000 cars were towed. “I recognize that changing behaviour on a permanent behavior takes time,” Tory said.
“You wish that we didn’t have to do these blitzes because you wish that people would get it the first time and decide to change their behaviour permanently, but human nature is what it is.”
Chief Saunders says these tagging and towing blitzes ensure public safety, as well as get traffic moving.
“When the rush hour routes are congested, drivers use the side streets, so they are getting displaced,” Saunders said.
“It increases the safety factors for the young boys and girls in those particular areas.”
Tory also mentioned possibly accelerating the current construction being done on the Gardiner to help get vehicles moving.
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