As Toronto grapples with what’s been a deadly year for cyclists, the city is raising fines for dozens of parking offences — a move officials say will create safer streets.
But while advocates are applauding the increase, some worry the city lacks the enforcement power to actually implement fines.
“The rarest thing to see is to see a parking enforcement officer ticketing someone in the bike lane,” said Albert Koehl, a coordinator for advocacy group the Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition.
On Aug. 1, the city will increase fines for 123 parking offences, including parking in bike lanes, parking without paying and parking in an electric vehicle charging space without using the charger. The charge for parking in a bike lane is rising from $60 to $200 and parking without paying will now be $50 instead of $30.
The fines were approved by city council in April after a review by city staff found steeper penalties would help motorists follow the rules.
Koehl says fines should go up, but fears the increase won’t matter if drivers aren’t deterred. He’d like to see the city send out a stronger message to drivers by enforcing fines — particularly after a young woman was killed while riding her bike last week in Yorkville.
The 24-year-old was the fifth cyclist death this year— surpassing 2020 when four cyclists were killed.
“I think most people are parking in these bike lanes with impunity,” said Koehl.
“Unfortunately, when the actions aren’t taken that are needed, we’re reacting to deaths, acting after the fact. We want to prevent deaths,” said Koehl.
Enforcement to increase in hot spots: city staffer
The decision to raise fines came after city staff found an increase in non-compliance to parking rules in the last six years, Nazzareno Capano, the city’s manager of operational policy and initiatives said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Here and Now.
Prior to the fine increase, Toronto’s charges were about 30 per cent lower than other major jurisdictions in Canada, he said.
“People have become complacent and are willing to take the ticket rather than park legally,” he said.
When the fines first roll out, parking enforcement officers might be more lenient and try to first educate the public, Capano said.
But then, enforcement efforts will ramp up, particularly in “hot spots” around the city where there are more frequent violators, he said.
“As time goes on, they will increase their enforcement regiment and possibly look at those locations around the city,” he said.
The city could generate about $40 million in additional revenue from the fines, but it’s hoping to make much less as that would signify compliance, he said. Less illegal parking should improve both safety and traffic flow, he said.
The most recent cyclist death on July 25 occurred after she swerved out of the bike lane into oncoming traffic to avoid a construction bin illegally placed in the bike path, Coun. Dianne Saxe said last week.
Capano said the city is examining their regulations in response and will produce a report in the fall on congestion management that will address that issue.
WATCH | Bike advocates raise alarm on cyclist deaths:
A city spokesperson also told CBC Toronto they are also working on increasing enforcement around keeping construction sites out of bike lanes to keep roads safe. The next update on Vision Zero, the city’s plan to eliminate traffic fatalities, will be published in the fall.
Fines only as effective as enforcement: professor
Last year, parking enforcement officers handed out 8,465 tickets for bicycle lane violations, according to Toronto police. This year, they’ve given out 6,451 as of July 29.
But enforcement around issues like blocking bike lanes with cars or objects has been “spotty,” said Matti Siemiatycki, an associate professor and the director of the infrastructure institute at the University of Toronto.
“Sometimes there’s intense enforcement and other times not so much. The fines going up could dissuade some people from parking in dangerous places, but it will only be as effective as the enforcement is,” he said.
Parking enforcement officers also need support and resources so that drivers know if they park in a dangerous way, there will be consequences, said Siemiatycki.
“This year has been a terrible year for cyclists and cyclist fatalities,” he said. “We need to redouble our efforts, use the data to understand what has been happening, and then implement policy and make sure that it’s backed up with enforcement.”