Fewer violations for illegal parking due to better compliance by motorists
Terrence McEachern | CBC News | Posted: February 17, 2017 5:00 PM | Last Updated: February 17, 2017
62 violations in 2016 lowest in the past five years
The Charlottetown Police Services says the drop in violations for illegally parking in downtown accessibility spaces isn't due to an increase in enforcement.
Rather, people are getting the message that it is wrong to do so, says Police Chief Paul Smith, and more people are getting and displaying their passes properly.
62 violations in 2016
"We're seeing more people be compliant," he said.
In 2016, there were 62 violations for parking in spaces for people with disability or mobility issues — 21 fewer than the previous year.
The number of violations was also the lowest in the past five years. In 2014, the number of violations peaked with 142.
- Concerns raised about enforcing fines for parking spots for people with disabilities
- $50 fine for parking in accessible spot 'not much of a deterrent'
'There for those who need them'
Smith explained that some of the tickets would have been people who forgot to make their permit visible. But in cases where the motorist is parking illegally, some of the excuses police hear from motorists include not knowing the space was restricted or that they were only going to park in the spot for a few minutes.
"Those parking spaces are there for those who need them. And, if we could get into a situation where we didn't have to write any tickets for that, that would be great," he said.
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