The worst place to park in Canada: Parking ticket traps, unfair tickets (CBC Marketplace)

this is marketplace the first ever national ticket trap takedown you're just getting a cash grab and it's happening day and date undercover in the underground to move locations to parking attendants caught ripping you off but you're not gonna pay it no no oh definitely not you can take this pickup throw it in the garbage and itec ways to make you pay possibly a city where you can't get away without paying for parking you can still do it but I would tell you that is a hard games play this is your market place with over 23 million cars on the road more than ever before parking enforcement has become big business no national survey of parking tickets has ever been done so Marketplace digs up data on more than 15 million tickets most being made public for the first time we crunched the numbers and come up with Canada's and worst ticket traps first up Winnipeg where our data shows they have the highest fines in the country Brian McKay is taking us on a tour you won't want to miss you'd be able to take the vehicle just because of people can he need the sign properly his job handing out parking fund for the past five years but this week he quit fed up with people getting unfair tickets I said are you kidding me you don't take there do you he's going to reveal how you can get ripped into getting tagged with a pricey ticket first stop the exchange district here's a sign tells me for two hours I can park between 8 a.m. and 1730 hours so I can park here no that'll get your ticket but the sign says I can park there yeah but you'll be too close to the fire hydrant the bylaw says you have to be three meters from the fire hydrant but both signs on either side say you can park in between confused yet we sure are the signs are so close together that if you park two cars there both of them are gonna be in violation the data shows 23 thousand dollars in fines were given out last year in this spot alone this sounds like a bureaucrats dream I got tired of it Brian also got tired of this next ticket trap one of the worst he's ever seen that's something I never issued any tickets for cuz I didn't believe it it's just something I go that's not fair Kasia Buchman doesn't think this spots fair either she works with youth in crisis one day she's called to the health center parks her car pays for parking and heads across the street but when she comes back before her time expires had five minutes left and I still got a ticket a $35 parking ticket seventy if she doesn't pay within 15 days for something surprising for parking within three meters of an unmarked crosswalk which is definitely not a crosswalk that's it right behind you there correct and this where is the crosswalk I can't see it there is no crosswalk we go down there have a look and so you were parked right here I just actually parked a little bit farther right over here where the sign says that I could park that sign says that you can park behind this signs see what happens when we cross nobody's stopping for us what do you think it's not a crosswalk it isn't at all that used to be somebody's old driveway they should just move the sign over the three meters and that would have saved everybody a lot of trouble why don't they I think they're just it's a cash grab that's what basically it is it's a cash grab in fact our data shows this side of the street is the third most ticketed in the city in just one year over ninety six thousand dollars in fines veteran defense lawyer John wine Gus has spent part of his long career challenging the legality of parking tickets at 86 he's still defending people in court I think should be regulated okay it should not be used for the purpose of revenue the data shows here in the City of Toronto a hundred million dollars in parking fines are given out every year two hundred and forty seven tickets are issued every hour or the city says it basically they issue these parking tickets to quote ensure safe traffic flow oh that's nonsense what because safe traffic buffalo has nothing to do with parking by parking a you know blocking rush-hour that's got to be a traffic flourish that's right rush-hour is at the regulation you cannot park during rush hour so it's just about gouging people you think of all the gouge in the motorist absolutely a 100 million dollars a year in revenue nothing to sneeze at this that's right and they they're not gonna give that up Toronto is not alone get this our data tells us that Halifax says the cheapest fines but Halligan Ian's get more tickets per resident than anywhere else in Canada back in Winnipeg the data reveals the ticket traps Brian shows us are also some of the most ticketed spots in the city like this third trap on Geary Street over 30 thousand dollars in fines were given out here last year we catch Kim about to pay to park so can you park here I think I can yeah it looks like I can shouldn't the signs time if I should tell me so what does this sign tell Kim means I think there's no parking but it's loading and this means that I am good to park here for up to two hours what's behind you where's the loading zone as you can conspiracy she may be on to something brian says he flagged these ticket traps to the city including the infamous ghost crosswalk it said this is kind of unfair maybe somebody should do a sign report and have it moved back because it's just something that's not right these drivers don't think it's right either today they're out warning other motorists not to park here they've been handing them out for decades right there and it's time that it ended so why won't the city fix its confusing signs armed with our list of ticket traps I meet up with the Winnipeg parking Authority's manager of compliance and regulations ryan arab ski we talked to a gentleman who recently resigned he says despite his letting the parking authority know about these problems nothing's done why is yeah well I I I might disagree with that I in three years we've sent off 546 signage deficiencies to public works to address tens of thousands of dollars every year the city breaks it in revenue off that crosswalk yeah uh why don't they change it as of all signage issues that get brought to our attention we will definitely look into it people call it a bait trap yeah do you agree with that no I actually don't know there definitely might be areas where we issue more tickets but that that's because a high demand and the convenience of that particular parking spot well apparently it's not too convenient for a lot of people who get she gets that you know they park their the sign is very clear you can park up to the post yet they still get tickets for this I call it a ghost crosswalk okay that is that fair I mean um no it's it is a curb cut out and it is it is a it is definitely a walkway yes isn't the revenue grab you this is not a revenue problem whatsoever no but only a few weeks after our interview a small victory for Winnipeg mode wrists they do move that sign ammunition for caches next battle which just happens to fall on her birthday I have a feeling you're not gonna let this go are you no I will go to court on my birthday to fight the $35 ticket need some help with your parking battle we've got lots of ticket traps and tricks to reveal about your city on Facebook like in Vancouver where thirty two million dollars in fines were handed out last year and guess where one of the most ticketed spots is here on the same block as a parking Authority office the parking wars heat up the way they conduct their business we're gonna give you two a collections agency and then toll your car when not to pay that ticket sign up for our newsletter at cbc.ca slash marketplace the real deal on parking fines on your marketplace we're on a stakeout in this underground parking garage in Mississauga Ontario oh here he comes investigating the big business of parking enforcement in Canada I have twice to move locations to get work is there something underhanded going on in the underground we'll find out in a sec but first release a ship over and her father Val hacen off our parking mad Val's a software engineer in Mississauga Ontario a couple of months ago he has a job interview so he parks his car on this Toronto parking lot and pays for parking till the end of the day to be safe but when he comes out just an hour later I was so surprised to see this received stucked in in here and I say what the hell I already paid a $69 and 75 cent ticket for failing to display valid receipt Val says he did display his receipt I did everything right I have my receipt here but this ticket isn't from the city it says precise park link a private parking company paid by the property owner to install and maintain the machines and patrol the lot precise partly I don't know what is precise it's not just cities after your parking dollars big private companies like precise park link are cashing in to processing over 600 million dollars a year in transactions it's one of the largest in Canada why sixty nine seventy five precise says that's the penalty per day if you don't purchase parking from the meter current stuff Valley meltem a photo has paid receipt but his dispute is denied why because he failed to pay their $10 disputing feet nothing on his ticket about a dispute fee then Val starts getting letters threatening to send his ticket to collections vows daughter ELISA helps them out by giving precise a call he paid for a full day $8.00 and now we're getting sixty nine dollars and seventy five cents for a parking a parking ticket which is ridiculous looking at the photos that controller check we've never received such pictures okay that would be great and what will happen if we don't pay it I don't have to alter to our vehicle did I even have authority to toll at all all right release and Val wait to receive the email with the photos is that your car yep untick it is exactly behind this ticket Val says look closely and you can actually see the edge of his receipt displayed on the dashboard the way they conduct their business we're gonna give you to a collection agency and then toll your car well you want to instill fear that that's not right imagine how many people do this like if it's so we're not the first ones that it's happened to she's right we find complaint after complaint from across the country including David Leo in Vancouver who gets letter out of the blue from precise demanding $100 for a three-year-old ticket he says he's never seen they threatened to leave a mark and my credit rating unless I settle the ticket with them he writes we want to see how fair precise parkland is at giving out tickets so we stake out some of their Lots these precise officers seem to be issuing tickets fairly but at this underground lot in Mississauga Ontario watch as this precise patrol officer who we learn is also a supervisor makes his way around a lot giving out multiple tickets after he's gone we check it out and see he's actually tagged two cars with a second ticket another precise patrol officer has already tagged these cars earlier in the day so now they each show a hundred and forty dollars twice the penalty precise says they'll charge per day if you don't pay around the corner the same precise supervisor tags EULA Daly's cars it's not nice an unfair ticket as she did the right thing and registered her plate you come down to park and you get a ticket but yola's gonna fight back so you're not gonna pay it no no oh definitely not well I definitely not no no no no no we contact precise park link to talk about these and other unfair tickets they've issued including vowels but they decline our invitation to come on camera so time to get help from parking ticket defender lawyer John Wayne gust nice meeting you it could appear that this is not really a parking ticket not a valid parking ticket but what they're doing is trying to get a judgment against you without even going to court so the parking ticket alone is a judge and jury basically you're saying that's right this is what they do they fool people by putting in a parking invoice as they call it okay and they're entitled to do whatever they like however my respectful opinion is that you can take this ticket and throw it in the garbage how do you guys feel about that my camera wrap my mind around what they're doing in so many people are falling for this so unless precise park link takes these guys to court it wouldn't pay them to do that to go after each individual who hasn't paid their parking funds to all these private parking tickets floating around Canada right now or any of these private parking tickets enforceable no but can an unpaid private ticket still affect your credit rating Equifax Canada tells us it does not accept parking ticket fines from collection agencies and some good news for Yola her tickets now been voided so next time you get an unfair private parking ticket you'll know what to do it's man versus the machine how long will you stop for ah I don't even thing go into van eight seconds spy cars coming to a street near you got a story you think we should investigate email us at Market Place at cbc.ca the ticket rap takedown continues on your marketplace for the first time ever marketplaces crunching the data millions of parking tickets across Canada when something different about Calgary catches our eye could this be the future of parking enforcement in Canada photo enforcement vehicles like this one are now being used to catch parking violators camera cars driving around taking pictures of every parked vehicle in its license plate there's a start of a zone here Park Plus patrol officer Josh Sangha guard used to only give out tickets on foot car can go faster then then anyone can walk so it's much it's much quicker much more efficient how efficient according to the data Calgary's six camera cars helped give up more than 91 thousand parking fines a year there's no escape if you haven't paid for parking and Calgary they'll likely know about it there are people bit more cautious now when they come downtown people are very much aware that we're here so there's fairly good compliance down here at the end of every shift officers bring their vehicles here plug them in and all those photos get uploaded into the parking authority's database these workers are checking those photos to see if payment was made hundreds of tickets are then printed out every morning and mailed out to unsuspecting motorists Nancy Shea son is a part plus enforcement supervisor what we're looking for is payment you want to make sure that the time we scan this vehicle that there's payment that's gonna cover that time frame what does it look like in this once this customer has paid from ten twenty seven until 14 27 we took their photo twice we took it at 14 43 and we took it again at 1501 so we allow you time to get to the pay machines or activate your cell phone account um however this one is quite far out it's approximately 20 minutes so at that point we're going to issue a parking ticket move on to the next one forget the days when you could talk your way out of a ticket and there's chatter about that this man complains he gets a ticket pulling over to make a phone call car still running I felt like I was doing the right thing he writes we've heard stories about people pulling over to make a phone call camera car drives by and they get a ticket I know the by law requires once you park your car in a park plus zone or a payment required zone um you are required to make payment it's as simple as that simple as that just like the time Steve pulls over on this downtown street to pick up his wife as I pulled in the park plus vehicle camera vehicle was right behind how long will you stop for uh I don't even think it would have been eight seconds it was a very short period of time a couple of weeks later he gets a $40 ticket in the mail seventy-five if he doesn't pay within 30 days takes the objectivity out of a parking enforcement agents job they they have a lot of discretion built into what they do and when you're just taking pictures of people's license plates I don't feel like you ever getting the full story in a one-second glimpse I head to City Hall to put that the calgary's mayor not hit Nenshi the number of people I've had call me in six years in this job saying that you know I was pulled over I was dropping someone off and I got a ticket I can count on one hand and that's out of hundreds of thousands of violations so you want to just have someone to call the mayor's office overflow they call me about everything try be in the mayor I know about skunks I know about dogs poop from the neighbor people stopping to drop someone off do we really expect him to pay for eight seconds of no of course not and that that is the one challenge but usually those are really easy to contest not so easy for Steve when he calls part plus to dispute his ticket he said well there's no difference between stopping and parking in our eyes Steve's told he can't contest it and we'll have to take it to court he pays the fine feeling it's not worth the cost of missing a day's work nearly seven million dollars in fines were issued last year with the help of the camera cars so now more cities are realizing the benefits Edmonton Saskatoon Whistler Waterloo Ontario and West mount Quebec are all starting to use them too but while Canada may be expanding the UK has actually banned the use of camera cars for parking enforcement calling them a clear abuse of CCTV which should be used to catch criminals and not as a cash cow the UK is getting rid of this technology why is calgary embracing it it's a bit odd that they would say I can take a picture of every single thing you do I know where you walk I know where you go I know where you eat I know where you use the public washroom but I don't know your license plate number but they used to catch muggers you know terrorism national security issues you're using it to catch people who may not affect the meter precisely difference that is exactly right we're using it to catch people who didn't feed the meter this is more than just compliance it's also a business model isn't it well you know and selling it is absolutely a business model and I would love to be able to make some real revenue off of licensing this into new cities in China for example in terms of the actual tickets I much prefer to get the money from people paying for the parking or municipalities like Calgary addicted to this revenue though we're not addicted to it but it is a helpful way of keeping property taxes down it cements Calgary's reputation is an innovative City as a city of high technology and as a city that is focused on citizen services and frankly that is the incredibly positive feedback I've gotten from it everywhere we've tested it and possibly a city where you can't get away without paying for parking you can still do it but I would tell you that is a hard game to play Steve doesn't think he's lost just yet now when he needs just a pull over for a minute or two he's going low-tech to avoid a high-tech tikka trap next week on marketplace are you ready for this trip never would have imagined that I would be smoking marijuana on national TV not your dad's pot the stuff that we're using today which is readily available and used by many people is much tanka we're about to legalize a substance that we just do not have enough data on what's in today's super week after smoking that kind of marijuana the psychosis would come on immediately

Channel: CBC News

Views: 1,164,555

Rating: 4.7418957 out of 5

Keywords: CBC News, CBCNews, CBC broadcasting media, public broadcasting, news, Canadian News, Canadian Broadcasting Corportation (TV network), CBC News Network, cbc marketplace, marketplace cbc, marketplace, parking, cars, parking lot, parking ticket, parking fines, towing, tow trucks, private parking, ticket traps, automotive, automobiles

Id: tB24lj71VPA

Length: 22min 26sec (1346 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 21 2016

Reddit Comments

[u/soysource]

Also interesting is at 15min 30secs they feature Calgary's automated parking system "Park Plus", a vehicle with an insane amount of cameras on it looking at license plates and automatically generating tickets.

[u/[deleted]]

I wonder how many tickets are issued from people simply not being able to pay for parking. In the winter, especially when it gets as cold as it has for the past few weeks, I've seen entire streets downtown with parking metres out of order. I would imagine there would be no way to fight a ticket because it was physically impossible to pay for parking either.

[u/Blewk]

Ticketed for parking too close to an "unmarked crosswalk"? How can you be ticketed for something that's unmarked? If it's not a marked crosswalk then it's not a crosswalk.

[u/joshlemer]

Thank you for posting! I hope one day people will become fed up enough with this garbage that the city governments won't be able to get away with this shit.

[u/MZM204]

The city should be ashamed of the pathetic levels the Winnipeg Parking "Authority" stoops to in order to farm in the cash. Parking here isn't about enforcement, it's about giving citizens of the city the absolute bare minimum under the law before screwing them for their cash. 💰💰💰

[u/aceofspades36]

I personally just avoid downtown unless I absolutely need to go there by car. When I bike I'm always worried about it getting stolen. Don't get me wrong, there needs to be some sort of enforcement but it's ridiculous. Not helping revitalize downtown IMO.