CALGARY- Drivers using the Saddletowne parking lot as a shortcut got an expensive lesson.
Police ticketed drivers who were using the northeast parking lot as a quick detour.
Many often use the lot as a way to avoid going all the way around Saddletowne Circle N.E.
Although there is no law saying you can’t cut through a parking lot, you can get a traffic ticket.
The violation? ‘Failure to obey a traffic signal’.
In one Saddletowne Circle N.E. parking lot there is a sign that says ‘no through’ traffic and it’s at every entrance and exit. It acts as a traffic signal and must be obeyed.
A lot of unsuspecting drivers have been penalized with a $172 ticket for the violation.
One frustrated driver feels he was unfairly ticketed in the northeast parking lot and plans to fight the ticket.
He says a lot of area residents, including himself , had no idea they were committing a traffic offense until they got the ticket.
“I feel I did nothing wrong because it is private property, 20 minutes to 6 in the morning everybody uses it as a roadway. I’ll be fighting the ticket for sure,” Brandon Olgilvie said.
“This campaign of educating people not to drive through would be better conducted at noon but at 20 to 6 with no business or foot traffic so it just seemed like an opportune time to set up and get a whole bunch,” Ogilvie said.
Police say they were issuing the tickets in response to a number of complaints.
One business manager says he’s so fed up with cars using the parking lot as a thoroughfare, because it’s a safety hazard for pedestrians.
Police say they do have authority to enforce the ‘rules of the road’ on private property in parking lots accessed by the general public.
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