The fines for a long list of parking offences in Toronto will increase starting Thursday.
The City of Toronto issued a news release Monday, saying that it will increase parking fines for 123 offences to help “curb illegal parking, stopping and standing.”
“Increasing fines can help reduce congestion by discouraging drivers from parking and stopping their vehicles in high-traffic areas and encouraging people to consider other modes of transportation such as walking, cycling or public transit to promote a smoother flow of traffic,” the city said.
The city said included in the changes is that the fine for parking without paying at a parking meter will increase from $30 to $50, the parking of a prohibited vehicle on a bicycle path will increase from $60 to $200 and the fine for non-electric vehicles or electric vehicles parked and not actively charging in an electric charging stall will be $75.
Toronto City Council approved the fines in April following a review by city staff.
In their news release, the city reminded residents that it does not communicate parking violations or penalties of any kind via text message.
“Residents are urged to treat such messages as fraudulent,” the city added.
A full list of the fine changes are available here.