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You come back to the parking lot after an evening on the town (or maybe you just dashed into the convenience store for a litre of milk) and your car is gone. “No fair!” you say as you watch it rapidly disappear down the road, hooked to a tow truck.
What are your rights? What’s it going to cost you? And how do you get your car back?
When it comes to parking on private lots, those questions prove difficult to answer. And, not surprisingly, not everyone sees eye to eye.
It’s after hours. The business is closed. The lot’s empty. Can I park there?
Nope, at least not if there are “private parking” signs posted. And there probably are. The business might not even own the lot, but just leases parking spaces for customers from the property owner. The property owner, in turn, might have a contract with a private enforcement agency to patrol the lot 24/7. You could be ticketed, towed or both.
It’s not city property. Why did I get a City of Ottawa ticket?
A number of parking enforcement companies have been deputized to issue City of Ottawa tickets. You can try fighting it in Provincial Offence court, but otherwise you have to pay. Ignore enough tickets and you might find you can’t renew you licence. The fine is $75, $55 with early payment.
Does a private company have the right to tow my car from a private lot?
They do. Common law allows them to tow any car that’s parked without permission. Face it. Your car is on someone else’s land, just as if you walked out your front door and found someone’s car in your driveway. You’d have the right to have it removed.
What does the bylaw say?
“Whenever a motor vehicle is parked or left on private property without the express authority of the owner or occupant of such property, a police officer, police cadet, municipal by-law enforcement officer or an officer appointed for the carrying out of the provisions of subsection 170(15) of the Highway Traffic Act, upon the written complaint of the owner or occupant of the property, may cause the said motor vehicle to be moved or taken to and placed or stored in a suitable place and all costs and charges for removing, care and storage thereof, if any, shall be paid by the owner of the said motor vehicle and such costs and charges shall be a lien upon the said motor vehicle which may be enforced in the manner provided by the Repair and Storage Liens Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.25 as amended.” (Ottawa Bylaw 2003-530)
So how do I get my car back?
This is where it gets complicated. The bylaw says a police officer or a bylaw officer has to be on hand. The officer will issue a ticket, then call one of the towing companies under contract to the city to have the vehicle removed. But one company, Park Safe, has its own tow trucks, and it’s perfectly legal for Park Safe to tow illegally parked cars, too. Where it gets complicated is who pays for that tow: The car owner or the property owner who contracted Park Safe to patrol the lot.
We’ll let Troy Leeson, program manager of parking enforcement for the city, explain:
“If the (bylaw) officer is called in to issue a ticket, the Highway Traffic Act and the city bylaw allows for the cost of that towing to be transferred to the vehicle owner,” Leeson said. “You call the city, we send an officer, we issue a ticket, we tow the car and the vehicle owner has to pay those costs before they get their car back.
“The other process is, I (as the property owner) don’t want to call city bylaw, I’m just going to do the process myself and have that vehicle removed. That’s my right as a property owner under common law. The difference is when I call the tow company and get the vehicle removed, I’ve made the contract with the tow company and there’s no mechanism for me to transfer those immediate costs to the driver of the car.”
Those costs can be high, upward of $250 for the tow and another $55 a day fee for impoundment.
In Leeson’s view, Park Safe can’t hold the car “for ransom” and a driver can demand their car be returned without having to pay the fee up front.
“When I get contacted in those scenarios, I say, ‘Contact the police.’ This is outside the bylaw. I don’t believe they have the right to deny the vehicle. They have to go through process, which is small claims action.”
The view from the other side — the parking enforcement company.
“The parking business is easy. You put up the signs, collect the money and make sure it gets to the bank,” says Marc Proulx, manager of Park Safe, which patrols about 60 private parking lots in Ottawa. Park Safe made $4 million in parking revenue last year, but only about $80,000 from towing parking “scofflaws”, he said.
“Towing is the worst part of our business.” he said. “Our core business is parking cars.”
During a visit to Park Safe’s new Laperriere Avenue office, Proulx gives a tour of the mind-boggling high-tech world of parking enforcement. There is licence plate reading software, data banks that list when, where and how long a vehicle has been parked, remote video feeds from lots around the city and its fenced, secure, video-monitored impoundment lot. Park Safe’s four tow trucks can hook and tow a car in under a minute, even one wedged tightly into parallel parking spot.
Warning signs at a private parking lot on Preston Street. The spot has been used by patrons at nearby pubs who return to find their cars gone.
Following the bylaw means Park Safe might have to wait an hour or two for a bylaw officer to show up, then wait more for one of the city contract tow trucks to arrive to remove the vehicle. That’s too long if the property owner wants illegally parked cars off their lot or needs the lot empty for snow removal, Proulx said. On top of that, Proulx says he could be liable if the other company damages the car during the tow.
He’s adamant that Park Safe can collect the payment up front and he worries that Leeson’s advice will embolden drivers whose cars have been towed and put his employees at risk. Park Safe employees will soon be wearing body cameras to record all their interactions, he said.
“Follow the rules. There’s signs posted all over the lot saying you’re going to be ticketed and towed at your expense. Not the (property) owner. Why should the property owner have the onus to remove 20 cars every night and have to take them to small claims court?”
What do police say?
Don’t count on Ottawa police for help with a parking dispute. “The situation you describe is a civil matter. Police would not get involved in this,” says Const. Marc Soucy.
The takeaway:
Leeson says the city is working on a bylaw amendment that could allow private companies like Park Safe to tow on their own. The proposal could come before council later this year. Until then, drivers who try to outfox the parking enforcers do so at their own risk. Park Safe’s technology gives it the edge. Proulx says his computer software recently detected a senior government bureaucrat who’d been forging parking slips at a Gatineau lot where she regularly parked. She’s been given a $900 bill for fees owed. Its plate reading technology caught another driver who was entering a public undergound lot in Ottawa, then dodging through an open gate to park in spots reserved for tenants.
“At the end of the day, the one thing that people do seem to be missing is that they are parked illegally,” Leeson says. “He does have the right to tow them, and if he goes to court he will likely get his money back.”
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
What are your rights? What’s it going to cost you? And how do you get your car back?
When it comes to parking on private lots, those questions prove difficult to answer. And, not surprisingly, not everyone sees eye to eye.
It’s after hours. The business is closed. The lot’s empty. Can I park there?
Nope, at least not if there are “private parking” signs posted. And there probably are. The business might not even own the lot, but just leases parking spaces for customers from the property owner. The property owner, in turn, might have a contract with a private enforcement agency to patrol the lot 24/7. You could be ticketed, towed or both.
It’s not city property. Why did I get a City of Ottawa ticket?
A number of parking enforcement companies have been deputized to issue City of Ottawa tickets. You can try fighting it in Provincial Offence court, but otherwise you have to pay. Ignore enough tickets and you might find you can’t renew you licence. The fine is $75, $55 with early payment.
Does a private company have the right to tow my car from a private lot?
They do. Common law allows them to tow any car that’s parked without permission. Face it. Your car is on someone else’s land, just as if you walked out your front door and found someone’s car in your driveway. You’d have the right to have it removed.
What does the bylaw say?
“Whenever a motor vehicle is parked or left on private property without the express authority of the owner or occupant of such property, a police officer, police cadet, municipal by-law enforcement officer or an officer appointed for the carrying out of the provisions of subsection 170(15) of the Highway Traffic Act, upon the written complaint of the owner or occupant of the property, may cause the said motor vehicle to be moved or taken to and placed or stored in a suitable place and all costs and charges for removing, care and storage thereof, if any, shall be paid by the owner of the said motor vehicle and such costs and charges shall be a lien upon the said motor vehicle which may be enforced in the manner provided by the Repair and Storage Liens Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.25 as amended.” (Ottawa Bylaw 2003-530)
So how do I get my car back?
This is where it gets complicated. The bylaw says a police officer or a bylaw officer has to be on hand. The officer will issue a ticket, then call one of the towing companies under contract to the city to have the vehicle removed. But one company, Park Safe, has its own tow trucks, and it’s perfectly legal for Park Safe to tow illegally parked cars, too. Where it gets complicated is who pays for that tow: The car owner or the property owner who contracted Park Safe to patrol the lot.
We’ll let Troy Leeson, program manager of parking enforcement for the city, explain:
“If the (bylaw) officer is called in to issue a ticket, the Highway Traffic Act and the city bylaw allows for the cost of that towing to be transferred to the vehicle owner,” Leeson said. “You call the city, we send an officer, we issue a ticket, we tow the car and the vehicle owner has to pay those costs before they get their car back.
“The other process is, I (as the property owner) don’t want to call city bylaw, I’m just going to do the process myself and have that vehicle removed. That’s my right as a property owner under common law. The difference is when I call the tow company and get the vehicle removed, I’ve made the contract with the tow company and there’s no mechanism for me to transfer those immediate costs to the driver of the car.”
Those costs can be high, upward of $250 for the tow and another $55 a day fee for impoundment.
In Leeson’s view, Park Safe can’t hold the car “for ransom” and a driver can demand their car be returned without having to pay the fee up front.
“When I get contacted in those scenarios, I say, ‘Contact the police.’ This is outside the bylaw. I don’t believe they have the right to deny the vehicle. They have to go through process, which is small claims action.”
The view from the other side — the parking enforcement company.
“The parking business is easy. You put up the signs, collect the money and make sure it gets to the bank,” says Marc Proulx, manager of Park Safe, which patrols about 60 private parking lots in Ottawa. Park Safe made $4 million in parking revenue last year, but only about $80,000 from towing parking “scofflaws”, he said.
“Towing is the worst part of our business.” he said. “Our core business is parking cars.”
During a visit to Park Safe’s new Laperriere Avenue office, Proulx gives a tour of the mind-boggling high-tech world of parking enforcement. There is licence plate reading software, data banks that list when, where and how long a vehicle has been parked, remote video feeds from lots around the city and its fenced, secure, video-monitored impoundment lot. Park Safe’s four tow trucks can hook and tow a car in under a minute, even one wedged tightly into parallel parking spot.
Warning signs at a private parking lot on Preston Street. The spot has been used by patrons at nearby pubs who return to find their cars gone.
Following the bylaw means Park Safe might have to wait an hour or two for a bylaw officer to show up, then wait more for one of the city contract tow trucks to arrive to remove the vehicle. That’s too long if the property owner wants illegally parked cars off their lot or needs the lot empty for snow removal, Proulx said. On top of that, Proulx says he could be liable if the other company damages the car during the tow.
He’s adamant that Park Safe can collect the payment up front and he worries that Leeson’s advice will embolden drivers whose cars have been towed and put his employees at risk. Park Safe employees will soon be wearing body cameras to record all their interactions, he said.
“Follow the rules. There’s signs posted all over the lot saying you’re going to be ticketed and towed at your expense. Not the (property) owner. Why should the property owner have the onus to remove 20 cars every night and have to take them to small claims court?”
What do police say?
Don’t count on Ottawa police for help with a parking dispute. “The situation you describe is a civil matter. Police would not get involved in this,” says Const. Marc Soucy.
The takeaway:
Leeson says the city is working on a bylaw amendment that could allow private companies like Park Safe to tow on their own. The proposal could come before council later this year. Until then, drivers who try to outfox the parking enforcers do so at their own risk. Park Safe’s technology gives it the edge. Proulx says his computer software recently detected a senior government bureaucrat who’d been forging parking slips at a Gatineau lot where she regularly parked. She’s been given a $900 bill for fees owed. Its plate reading technology caught another driver who was entering a public undergound lot in Ottawa, then dodging through an open gate to park in spots reserved for tenants.
“At the end of the day, the one thing that people do seem to be missing is that they are parked illegally,” Leeson says. “He does have the right to tow them, and if he goes to court he will likely get his money back.”
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
