Montreal drivers to pay more for parking infractions
Parking tickets will go up by 26 per cent and the fine for parking in a reserved bus lane will double under fee increases approved by Montreal’s executive committee Wednesday.
Parking illegally will cost you $78 instead of the current $62, while leaving your car in a bus lane will cost $302 instead of $150.
The increase in general parking tickets is almost entirely due to a rise in administrative fees, which are set by the Quebec government. The hike in those fees accounts for all but $1 of the $16 increase.
But in the case of parking in a reserved bus lane, the city is slapping on an extra $129, while the province is raising administrative fees by $23.
The hikes will bring an estimated $10.9 million yearly into city coffers. Mayor Valérie Plante said the goal was not to create higher revenue but to prevent illegally parked cars from obstructing street cleaning or impeding mobility by blocking reserved bus lanes.
“I’m hoping it will change behaviours,” she said.
“I’m more interested in changing behaviours than in getting the money,” she added, saying the additional revenue would be used on initiatives like the Zero Vision road safety program the city announced last week.
However, opposition leader Lionel Perez slammed the increase in fines, accusing the Plante administration of targeting drivers.
“It really demonstrates their modus operandi where they just want to be able to tax only one category of Montrealers. It’s a lack of respect,” he said.
Last year, parking tickets went up by 17 per cent, while fines for double parking rose by 64 per cent and penalties for parking in a disable zone doubled. The last increase before that was in 2009.
In 2016, Montreal gave out 1.1 million parking tickets, which generated $59 million in revenues.
The measure will be introduced at next week’s council meeting, and is expected to be approved on April 15. mscott@postmedia.com
I’m more interested in changing behaviours than in getting the money.