City hall wants $150 parking tickets; Reddit’s Toronto community wants fines geared to income
Pending approval from council, city will start slapping drivers who park illegally during rush hour with $150 fines. The proposal to hike fines from a measly $40 to $60 passed the city’s public works committee by a 3-2 vote and is now set to go before council. But while nobody likes gridlock, and cyclists, of course, will appreciate anything that discourages people from parking in their designated lane, we’re skeptical of the fine’s efficacy. The Toronto Star spoke to one truck driver who said his company thinks of tickets for blocking traffic as “the cost of doing business” (though he did speculate that heftier fines might change that). Meanwhile, a thread on Reddit explores whether fines geared to an individual’s income might be more effective. After all, $150 is basically pocket change to a fat cat in a Porsche. Plus, it’s kind of delicious, in a twisted sort of way, to think about somebody getting hit with a million-dollar fine. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
Fines already are geared to income: if you can’t afford a ticket, don’t park illegally. It’s that easy. $150 isn’t enough, considering the inconvenience and danger to other users of the road caused by parking in the curb lane during rush hours.
Unfortunately, everyone who drives a Porsche doesn’t actually earn enough to own a Porsche so gearing fines to vehicle value isn’t the same as gearing them to income. I would however fully support a douche bag tax to be paid by anyone who drives anything that requires premium grade gasoline.
Betina, go learn a few things about cars before you make ridiculous comments like that.
and why not try some Free parking in Toronto?