Newmarket’s parking enforcement brought in a three-year high of $468,865 in penalty notices in 2022, with Main Street, Southlake and Ward 7 as focal points.
The town’s parking bylaw team presented an update on activities to council June 28. The team’s yearly revenue total was higher than the pandemic-impacted years of 2020 ($269,645 in parking enforcement revenue) and 2021 ($425,125) but still below pre-pandemic figures (with $570,445 collected in 2019). The report also highlighted where most parking offenses occur, with Main Street, residential streets around the hospital, and streets west of Upper Canada Mall north of Davis Drive highlighted.
Ward 7 Councillor Christina Bisanz said she is not surprised to see her area as a hotspot location.
“Parking is a considerable issue and concern in the town,” Bisanz said, adding that she thinks the parking issues in her ward are a result of home design. “I’ve been concerned about this for a number of years … Smaller, narrow lots with shorter driveways.”
The report spotlights where municipal parking enforcement focuses the most, with 801 hotspot patrols on Main Street between April 2021 and December 2022, followed by 660 on Lundy’s Lane near the Southlake Regional Health Centre. The leading parking offence is parking between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. during the winter, followed by parking contrary to a no-parking sign. In total, 8,474 penalty notices were issued 2022, higher than 2019 (7,360 notices issued), 2020 (3,367) and 2021 (5,094).
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said it is not surprising that parking offences tend to happen downtown, as an entertainment district, and the hospital area, with people wanting to avoid paying for parking there.
“To be fair, in some cases, you’re living on a low income, and you got a family member (in hospital) for two weeks. You’re rolling the dice you don’t get a ticket because you can’t afford to park,” Taylor said. “It’s a challenge.”
But he added there may be more pockets of town in residential areas that could similarly have the same parking issues Ward 7 does.
“What I think you’re going to find a lot of other little pockets that are not as dominant as the northwest quadrant are similar,” Taylor said.
The department identified success in Main Street’s parking enforcement has improved since introducing a 30-minute parking limit and regular daily patrolling. As a result, there was only eight public requests for enforcement recorded in 2022 on Main Street, versus 25 in 2019, 50 in 2020 and 16 in 2021.
“The positive effect of our parking team routinely monitoring the area is to help to ensure the spaces are utilized correctly, encourage turnover of these spaces, which in turn helps ensure there’s ample parking to visitors and residents,” acting supervisor for animal services and parking Jacob Brewer said.
School zones are another point of focus for parking enforcement, with 149 issues and 66 tickets issued between April 1 2021 and December 31, 2022 during school zone patrols.
The department plans to pilot automated licence plate readers, which Brewer said could increase the department's efficency. Other ideas the department is considering in the future include expanding the off-street parking program and looking at discounts for parking permits for seniors and those on financial assistance.
