The Calgary Parking Authority wants people to know it’s watching for people getting sneaky when it comes to dodging parking tickets.
Some drivers are now covering up their licence plates to avoid getting a ticket from the camera cars patrolling city streets.
A cloth or a coffee cup seem to be the most common tools used to obscure plates.
The Calgary Parking Authority says when a camera car operator spots a plate that is covered up, an officer is sent in to deal with the offender.
“This is flagged internally and a mobile enforcement officer is sent to provide manual enforcement,” said Adrian Mrdeza, communications advisor with the parking authority.
“Calgarians are always welcome to call us because it helps them and it helps us identify areas we can provide additional enforcement.”
But for chronic offenders, Mrdeza advises calling the police.
“We have to stress that obscuring a licence plate is illegal and can be enforced by Calgary police.”
A ticket from the police for obscuring a licence plate comes with a $155 fine.
Inner city residents say they are tired of seeing vehicles parked all day with covered-up licence plates.
“There’s just not enough parking,” Hillhurst resident Micky Knipshceer said. “You get people to come who walk to work downtown and they try to park here.
“I had one person doing that for two weeks about two years ago and they kept parking every day in front of my house.”
A Calgary Parking Authority ticket costs $75 but drops to $40 if paid within 10 days.
But it’s not just people avoiding parking tickets that could be in trouble. Calgary police have been known to hand out tickets to drivers with hitch-mounted bike racks on their vehicles.
According to police, anything that inhibits the visibility of a licence plate is illegal.