CALGARY- The Calgary Parking Authority has gone public with concerns about the high number of tickets it has written this year, for drivers parking in spots reserved for people with disabilities.
“So far in 2013 we’ve seen over 3,200 tags issued from January 1st to May 31st,” says Miles Dyck, manager of parking enforcement. “So that’s a bit of a concern to us, that the message simply is not getting out to motorists.”
Those numbers are putting the city on pace to break the record number of tickets issued in 2012, which was 7,100.
Only drivers with a blue or red parking placard or a disabled license plate are allowed in reserved accessible parking stalls. Visitors to Alberta or new residents can use their out-of-province tags.
The CPA says the most common excuses are that drivers were just using the spot for a minute or didn’t see the sign. Many people complain even when a driver has a permit, but officers can only write a ticket if the vehicles doesn’t have a permit.
“We do get comments about individuals who look like maybe they aren’t requiring a placard. Those are not issues that we can enforce.”
The law also allows them to investigate complaints on both private and public lots.
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