City moves toward overnight street parking permits

The City of Toronto is one step closer to offering overnight and weekend on-street parking permits.

The public works and infrastructure committee voted Tuesday to establish the short term permits at a rate of $8 for 24 hours, and $12 for 48 hours. City council must ratify the decision.

Motions from councillors Mark Grimes and Mike Layton to reduce the fees to $6 and $10, respectively, were punted over to the City Manager for consideration as part of his review of all user fees. A seven day temporary permit is the shortest term motorists can purchase now.

The idea for the “overnighter” and the “weekender” came from councillors Paula Fletcher (Toronto-Danforth) and Cesar Palacio (Davenport).

At the committee meeting, Councillor Palacio voiced his frustration with parking enforcement officers’ propensity for handing out tickets. He shook a fist full of yellow parking tickets in the air. “This is just a tax grab that cannot be justified,” said Mr. Palacio.

In setting the rate, staff looked at what the 145 facilities under the jurisdiction of Toronto Parking Authority charge and found it’s $4 to $8 per night. The set fine for parking without a permit is $30. Some members of the committee argued against dropping the price.

Councillor Gord Perks (Parkdale-High Park) said reducing it will make the revenue less than what it costs to process the transaction.

“I think $8 and $12 is a bargain in the city of Toronto for parking. And efforts to reduce that, I think it’s reducing it too far,” said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, chairman of the public works committee. “Perhaps we should even be charging a little bit more.”