By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: Nov. 10, 2012
Be careful where you park your vehicle: Big Brother from the district is watching.
Bylaw officers dealt with 854 parking complaints over a period of 22 months, from January 1 to November 8.
The district received 2,554 complaints and customer service requests in this period.
The information was shared at the business process committee of the district on Thursday, Nov. 8.
People called in with many of these complaints, but most of them were parking violations that were observed by bylaw officers while on routine patrol.
In fact, a lion’s share of the complaints (1453) was proactively generated by the enforcement.
District has stepped up its enforcement, adding staff, and being more pro-active than waiting for people to call with their complaints.
Once a complaint comes in, the district tries to respond within 72 hours, said Robin Arthurs, general manager of corporate services.
“Once a complaint enters our tracking system, we don’t close it until we have followed it up,” she said.
The parking infractions make up of nearly one-third of the complaints generated by the bylaw officers.
Complaints about dogs came in second, with 284 files created for dog related issues.
Bylaw officer Kristine Day said a parking infraction doesn’t always result in a fine.
“It depends on the severity of the situation,” she said.
“Many times a written warning is issued or placed on the vehicle to advise the operator of the contravention. A verbal warning may be given.”
Day said the district goal is to educate the public and get voluntary compliance.
Day said there could be a variety of complaints on parking, but some are more concerning than others.
Vehicles parked within or too near a crosswalk, a stop sign or an intersection, too close to or in front of a fire hydrant, obstruction of the travel portion of the lane, and parked while uninsured were some of them.
“There is little or no tolerance for these offences and the vehicle may be ticketed and towed without warning,” Day said.
She said most of the traffic or parking related files is self-generated by bylaw officer while on routine patrol.
A complaint form is available on the district website.
Here is a breakdown of the complaints:
- Parking – 854
- Unclassified- 300
- Dogs – 284
- Traffic- 253
- Noise- 104
- Wildlife- 86
- Snow removal- 78
- Signs- 73
- Bear Aware- 70
- Business Licensing-70
heather gee says
This article is a real eye-opener. I’ve seen tons of infractions of by-laws and know that our by-law officials are not fond of collecting fines. I thought the municipality needed extra funds! Claiming ignorance of our by-laws is no excuse for not being charged. How long does it take to educate a community about leaving your engine running? On one occasion the culprits ran their truck’s engine for over an hour and they got away with no fine being imposed. Running a loud engine for hours after midnight, seems to be just unfortunate for those nearby who are disturbed by the noise. Even when this is done repeatedly, there is no fine imposed.
Why are infractions called complaints? If these infractions are added up, the real question should be, how much was collected in fines?
That would be a revelation !
Stéphane Perron says
Gagan, I dont understand your reference to big brother. That our bylaw enforcement officers are on the lookout for violations is what we expect, not something Orwellian.
Gagandeep Ghuman says
Perhaps it isn’t as tongue in cheek as I intended. You are right. The district employees were simply doing their job. There’s nothing Orwellian about it.
Stéphane Perron says
Thanks Gagan. An informative article otherwise.
e m says
Perhaps, ignorance is no excuse, how would you know not to park somewhere when there is no No Parking sign?