Parking ban ticket data, report requested to review how city conducts enforcement

A city councillor has requested that administration report back to council on how many parking tickets were issued during Edmonton's last parking ban and if any were cancelled after many residents voiced concerns about the process.

That Phase 2 parking ban started on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. and was extended until Feb. 5 to allow crews more time for neighbourhood blading. Typically parking bans only last for 24 to 72 hours.

This winter, the city implemented a new notification system to inform residents by text or email when plows would be moving through neighbourhoods.

Several Edmontonians expressed concerns about how that system didn't work as intended or if they were in another part of the city, they wouldn't know if crews would move through as they parked.

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On Tuesday, Coun. Erin Rutherford formally requested the report, specifically asking how bylaw officers select neighbourhoods for enforcement, what factors make an area a "high priority" for patrolling and how often that priority list is updated.

Additionally, she asked for a neighbourhood breakdown of issued tickets.

"I had a lot of residents in my ward that talked about how one street had a line of tickets, another street had none," Rutherford told reporters.

A tow truck moves a vehicle parked on a roadway during a parking ban (CTV News Edmonton/John Hanson).

Based on the "numerous" inquiries her office received and several stories reported in the media about how the snow removal process wasn't as smooth as before, Rutherford said it's important council consider ways to improve the snow and ice control program.

Representing Ward Anirniq in the city's northwest, Rutherford shared how she received the most complaints about ticketing and the lack of notification from Woodcroft, Kensington, Prince Charles and Inglewood residents.

"I want to make sure that there is an equitable approach for enforcement across the city and we are not unnecessarily targeting specific communities," she said, adding that some councillors she spoke with received no concerns about parking ban ticketing.

"Families are hurting," Rutherford said. "A $500 ticket when they didn't know about the ban or when it started or when it ended, it was concerning for them."

She hopes the data and report will ignite a greater conversation about snow clearing and how the city communicates parking bans.

"If you don't know the rules in use, how can you be compliant?" she asked. "There seems to be a disproportionality of what neighbourhoods got ticketed and some neighbourhoods that didn't even have enforcement go into their neighbourhoods."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson and Karyn Mulcahy