“I hate parking here,” says Edna Tehranzadeh, as she runs back to her car. She’s safe this time but her ticket is 10 minutes past the meter.
Whether it’s to shop at one-of-a-kind boutiques, like Tehranzadeh does, or to dance the night away at a club, if you’re visiting the Byward Market, don’t park on George St.
It’s the most ticked street in Ottawa, according to an analysis of City of Ottawa data. It’s the largest single street contributor almost $16.4 million in parking fines collected between January 1, 2017 and September 5, 2017.
Scroll through this map to browse the number of fines given out in these 10 horrible locations to park.
The data, obtained through a municipal freedom-of-information request, shows that cars parked in the Byward Market are issued the most tickets in Ottawa.
In fact, avoid York St. too, which runs parallel to George St. While you may be less likely to get ticketed on York St. than on George St., the fines tend to be higher.
“It makes me think twice about shopping downtown,” says Tehranzadeh, who recently moved to Ottawa.
As it turns out, some parking infractions are costlier than others. York St. is the golden goose for the City of Ottawa, amounting to $347,181.20 of fines between January 1, 2017, and September 5, 2017.
That’s because, on York St., you’re more likely to receive a steeper ticket for parking on ‘unauthorized property,’ which averages at a fine of $70. If you’re in a pickle and just need to park your car, parking in a prohibited area is one of the lowest costing infractions, averaging at around $32 a ticket.
It may be a simple oversight or maybe you thought you could get away with it, but parking ticket hotspots have an explanation, says Roger Chapman, the Director of By-law and Regulatory Services for the City of Ottawa.
There are several factors which play into these areas, most often “attracting large numbers of people and vehicles, as well as a shortage of parking spaces to accommodate them,” says Chapman.
Other ticketing hotspots include TD Place at Landsdowne, Cumberland St. along the University of Ottawa, 1385 Woodroffe Ave. by Algonquin College and the City of Ottawa parking lot at 383 Albert St.
A parking officer can be spotted on Google Street view’s image of 383 Albert Street., the City of Ottawa’s notoriously fined parking lot. (Google, 2017)
Of course, fine officers play a role in it too. Officer Khalil champions the issuing of parking tickets in Ottawa, according to an analysis of the city’s parking data.
Although the City of Ottawa refused to release his full name, he wears the badge number 395, which was listed 8057 times in the data- one time for every ticket he wrote.
“Officer Khalil is indeed very dedicated and skilled,” said Chapman. “But there are no quotas or rewards associated with parking ticket issuance.”
The number one parking ticket issuer declined an interview, but data shows that he tickets cars in the Byward Market, particularly on George St., York St., and Dalhousie St.
He hands out 96 per cent more tickets than the average bylaw officer does in the Market.
“With parking being so expensive already, I would honestly rather take the bus,” said Marissa Kocent who works at a restaurant in the area. “A parking ticket sounds like a nightmare at the end of a shift.”
The jaw-dropping $16.4-million is a slight revenue for the City of Ottawa. And it all goes back into the system, says Chapman.
“These monies are used to offset enforcement and other costs associated with the operations of By-law & Regulatory Services,” he says.
So, next time you find yourself in Lowertown and you’re considering parking your car in the Market, consider that you might return to your car to find that dreaded telltale slip tucked under your windshield.