The city will also be increasing number of parking enforcement officers. It may sound like an April Fool’s gag, but the major increase to parking tickets coming to Mississauga on April 1 is no joke.
The City of Mississauga soars parking fines by an average of $28. The decision was made at a council meeting on February 5, where council voted to increase fees by 38%. This includes an extra $10 premium for the top parking offences and a $50 premium for offences that create a public safety concern.
The changes come a January staff report on the matter recommended the changes. The report compared Mississauga’s parking ticket fees to Brampton, Ottawa, Hamilton, Vaughan and Toronto. It found that Mississauga fines were a third lower than those other jurisdictions. The report recommended that the city increase fines to align with the jurisdictional average, keep up with inflation, and encourage better compliance.
Tickets for parking for more than 5 hours will now cost $60, up from $35. The fine for parking in a bike lane has more than doubled from $55 to $130.
Mayor Parrish said at the council meeting that she was in “support of the report in its entirety” and that “higher fines make people stop and think.”
Ward 9 Councillor Martin Reid spoke about the challenge of increasing fines for parking on residential streets from 2am-6am, while at the same time approving more density, such as basement apartments, in residential neighbourhoods. He went on to say, “it seems like we’re kind of punishing at the same time we’re trying to accommodate.”
According to city staff, an updated report on introducing an on-street permit program should be expected in the future. In the meantime, there are time-limited parking permits available for purchase. There is a temporary (5 day) on-street parking permit and an extended parking permit that would allow someone to park on a residential street for a month.
In addition to increasing parking fines, the city will also be increasing its number of parking enforcement officers. This will allow the city to possibly dedicate two or three officers to the city’s lakefront parks during the peak summer months.
Ward 1 councillor Stephen Dasko told the council that he does hear from residents complaining about the cost of parking tickets, but more often, he hears complaints about the lack of enforcement. The report also suggests enforcement is a problem, as both calls for enforcement and the number of tickets issued have increased year over year since 2021.
The report also says these new parking fines should bring in an additional $4 million in revenue for the city for 2025 and $5.6 million in 2026. Looking ahead, the city says it will not wait nine years again before increasing rates.
City staff say they will review parking fines on a yearly basis. Moreover, they will be looking to apply yearly reviews not just to parking fines, but to all by-law penalties.
P.C. : Mississauga.ca
