Cars breaking winter parking ban towed to CP library
Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Desmond DevoyEMC News - Dude, where's my car?
If you parked it on the road between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when Carleton Place's new winter parking ban went into effect, it's likely been towed to the Carleton Place Public Library at 101 Beckwith St.
"It (the winter parking ban) seems to be working well, but there are a few wrinkles," said Coun. Doug Black of the ban, which kicks in to gear whenever seven centimetres or more of snow is forecast overnight.
Now, rather than towing cars that are found to be in violation to a nearby street, they will now be towed to the library parking lot.
"It will make it easier for residents to find their car," said Black.
Protective services director Les Reynolds told the planning and protection committee meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 24 that the ban appeared to be working.
Cars that were parked illegally on Napoleon Street, for example, could be moved to Sarah Street, and vice versa, but sometimes "people who are towed have no idea where their cars are," said Reynolds. "You'd be walking around the neighbourhood looking for your car."
Reynolds estimated that about a dozen vehicles have had to be moved by town employees on the three nights so far, this winter that the parking ban has been put in place. However, he estimated that between 24 and 30 vehicles per night were parked illegally, something he said was pretty reasonable for a town of Carleton Place's size.
"We have no reason towing a vehicle if we have no place to put it," said Reynolds. "We only remove them if they are a major impediment to snow removal."
Reynolds noted that illegally parked cars, which cost the town about $60 per tow, were not covered by the cost of the fine.
"It won't be because we don't receive all of the revenue from the program," said Reynolds.
He also added that it is too early in the new ban's implementation to tell if the program is working better than the old ban, in place for more than 50 years in Carleton Place. It had banned cars parking on the road overnight outright, from mid-November to mid-April.
However, the strange winter weather has played havoc with implementing the program.
"It has been a strange winter," said Reynolds, with some snow storms only bringing between two and four centimeters, "(which is) not enough to put the ban into effect, but we still need to get the plows out."
The new ban was modeled as a carbon copy of the same law in the City of Ottawa.
"Ninety-nine times out of 100, if the City of Ottawa has a parking ban, we have one," said Reynolds. "If you're not sure, err on the side of caution and get your car off of the streets."
Reynolds, however, has given his officers some leeway in enforcing the ban.
"I've told my officers that if it is 6 a.m., uses their discretion because, in an hour, it will be legal (to park)," said Reynolds.
Coun. Louis Antonakos noted that he has been receiving positive feedback from residents about the signs that are placed in the snow banks along roads to let motorists know about the ban, and that that street will be plowed shortly.
"The library is, I think, a great spot," Antonakos said. However, he noted that for people who live further away from the downtown core, on Crampton or Stonewater Bay, it would be tougher to tramp down Lake Avenue to get their cars.
The town's economic promotions co-ordinator, Manda Blakeley, has set up an email list that people can sign onto to let them know that a winter parking ban has been placed for that night. Her email address is mblakeley@carletonplace.ca.
Residents can also check on the town's Twitter feed, or on Facebook.
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