SPOT OF TROUBLE
Canada Post driver parks in accessible space, ignoring rules in favour of convenience,
Accessible parking spaces are to be used only by people with physical challenges, except for one particular Canada Post driver.
And when asked to move into a vacant legal spot right next to his truck, the driver twice said he’d only be five minutes, as if that was reason enough to remain in the accessible space.
We stopped at the Guildwood plaza, on Guildwood Parkway, to pick up groceries on Monday and saw a Canada Post cube van backing into an accessible space near a variety store that doubles as a postal depot.
Right next to the accessible spot was an empty space meant for the public. Why he didn’t park in that one was puzzling, to say the least, so we couldn’t resist pointing it out to the driver.
“How long are you going to be?” we asked. “About five minutes,” he said. “You know you are parked in a disabled spot,” we replied. “You shouldn’t be there.”
“But I’m only going to be five minutes or so,” he said.
“I don’t care if you’re only going to be five seconds,” we responded. “You are parked in a disabled spot. You should move.” He shrugged. “Look, buddy, do I have to start taking pictures?” “Do whatever you want,” he said. We walked back to the car to get our phone and then returned to the van. It gave him more than enough time to move it. Had he done so, there would have been no pictures and no story.
But through the windshield we could see him fiddling around with stuff in the back, before he stopped to watch us take photos.
Only at that point — about five minutes after he pulled in — did he finally hop behind the wheel and moved into the vacant space next door, where he should have been all along.
Aside from the rules — parking in an accessible space without a permit is a $300 fine — it’s appalling that a driver for a Crown corporation thought it was OK to park there and argued about vacating the space. Status: We sent photos of the van to Canada Post, along with a summary of what we saw and our talk with the driver, and got the following reply: “Thanks again for bringing this to our attention. This situation is unacceptable and we’re following up internally. There is no time when it is acceptable to park in a no-parking zone clearly marked for people with special needs.
“We apologize to anyone who may have been unable to access the parking spot at that time. Our expectation is that employees right across the country serve customers while following the traffic laws, which includes respecting no-parking zones. We talk to our employees regularly about safety. If there is an issue, customers should contact us at 1-866607-6301 so that we can investigate and address it.”
There was no mention of consequences for the driver. Talking to employees about safety is good, but it wouldn’t hurt to send every driver a memo, emphasizing that accessible spaces are out of bounds. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Send an email to jlakey@thestar.ca. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.