Photo by Michael Lehet
Saving a space on the street—whether with pylons, recycling bins, hockey sticks taped to milk crates, or balloon-bedecked chairs marked “Party Parking”—falls into the totally-illegal-but-rarely-punished category. Offenders are technically “encumbering the streets,” a violation of bylaw 313. Penalties, however, are hard to dole out because the infraction is beyond the mandate of Traffic Police Forces: no vehicle means no license plate, which means no number to write on the ticket. Rather, enforcement falls to the Traffic and Right of Way Office, which doesn’t have regular patrollers. To tattle on your neighbours, you’ll have to call in a complaint, after which an officer will, in the words of Traffic Planning Manager Angie Antoniou, “bring a notice of warning to the door, politely seeking compliance.” If this doesn’t stop them—and who wouldn’t be scared straight by a polite request for compliance?—a second snitch could garner a $100 fine.
• Question from Elaine Brundage near Yonge and Eglinton
Wondering about the waterfront? Curious about construction? Perplexed by politics? Ask the Urban Decoder a question here.
Why the hell would chairs deter anyone? They’re not bolted to the asphalt are they? Just move the chairs and enjoy his hard work! Sheesh.
May 22, 2009 at 10:50 am | by NamedI think that more people would respect the chairs as reminders that someone lives there and needs a spot.
August 27, 2009 at 3:14 pm | by A.R.I shovel out my parking spot infront of my house all the time. If I get a un-invited parker, I just make their life miserable, when it comes to leaving the parking spot. If I dont have a parking spot, I take my car, block my driveway and park about 1cm away from their bumber. I am not a jerk, but my other option is, shovel out another spot. They have a tough time getting out and I have fun watching. I will loan them my shovel if they ask. Fortunately, this has not been a problem this year.
March 11, 2010 at 2:40 pm | by JOhn