More than 2,500 Calgarians who were issued tickets during the spring street sweeping campaign by the City of Calgary are having the fines withdrawn, according to the Calgary Parking Authority (CPA).
The CPA said on Wednesday that 2,549 tickets of the approximately 36,000 that were handed out during the months-long process were cancelled.
A number of factors went into the cancellations, but the most common reason was signage-related, the parking authority said.
“We’re always in a process of review but we decided to take a more in-depth look at the street sweeping tickets just when we saw what the volume was,” enforcement support coordinator Todd Sullivan said.
“What we were looking for is anything that would’ve stood in the way of the citizens complying with the ban, in most cases that came down to a sign issue.”
City officials advised when the program started that signs would be posted throughout neighbourhoods and were clear that residents should expect a ticket if their vehicles were left in the way.
However, it was later found that if the sign had been tampered with, was missing, or could have been confusing for the residents, the tickets were rescinded.
Fines for leaving your vehicle in the way of a street sweeper range from $80 to $120 depending on when they are paid.
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The city posted street sweeping schedules online at Calgary.ca/sweep in hopes of making it easier for homeowners to find out when their dusty and rocky roads would be cleared.
“Sometimes it was the layouts of the streets that made it a little bit confusing,”
Sullivan said the use of the ParkPlus vehicle system allowed the CPA to reach more of the city, making for an increase in ticketing.
When it comes to the number of cancellations and complaints, Sullivan said the CPA is on par with last year at about six to seven per cent.
In a given year, CPA will issue around 400,000 tickets, Sullivan said.
WATCH: Changes to Calgary street sweeping bylaw create record amount of parking tickets. Cami Kepke reports.