‘There was only one cone,’ says driver after her car was towed under rare law – she had photographic proof and cut fine in half

HOMEOWNERS went to town after signs banning street sweepers from parking went missing – more than 200 cars were towed away.

Strong winds knocked down several signs announcing no parking for street sweepers.

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Every spring, the Canadian city of Ottowa, Ontario, implements a temporary parking ban in the region’s residential zones to remove winter dirt, salt and grime.

From 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, cars are prohibited from parking on residential streets to allow street sweepers to work efficiently.

Those who fail to transport their vehicles to the sweepers will be fined $75 or towed if the vehicles are not moved after the ticket is issued.

“I think we expect about 200 cars to be towed today,” said Jean Sebastien of Gervais Towing. CTV News Ottawa.

Signs are posted in several locations along the street to prevent citations and towing at the entrance and exit of the street the day before the sweepers arrive.

Occasionally, the sweeper will sweep one side of the street and return several hours later to sweep once more.

However, several homeowners in a Sandy Hill neighborhood woke up to find their vehicles towed in 2015.

Elisa Cote’s truck was towed, claiming there were no signs in her neighborhood.

“There was just a cone with a little wooden stick,” she said.

“There was no sign saying ‘No Parking’.”

Strong winds ripped through the neighborhood, knocking down many signs and obscuring the message.

Some signs were found in dumpsters and dumpsters, while others were completely missing.

She took several photos of the lack of signage and took them to City Hall to argue that her truck should not have been towed.

When authorities saw the photos, his $75 citation was cut in half.

Roger Chapman, head of statutes and regulatory services, said she should have been warned.

“Where there is no signage, an alert is issued and the vehicle is moved to a nearby street,” he said.

Earlier this month in Calgary, Alberta, the spring cleaning campaign issued $80 fines to drivers who didn’t turn in their cars for street cleaning.

How to Fight a Parking Ticket

You can avoid being fined by following all published laws and regulations, but sometimes mistakes are made

Like any form of citation, parking tickets can be avoided by reading and obeying posted signage. However, when visiting a new city, or state, or in a hurry, things can be missed and mistakes can be made.

Suddenly there’s a ticket you weren’t prepared to pay for. If the ticket comes as a surprise to you, there are some things you can do to help your case when appealing a parking ticket.

• Read the ticket carefully. Look for errors such as incorrect street names, license plate numbers, vehicle make and model, time and date, etc. Errors would render the ticket invalid.
• Take pictures. The vehicle in the space, lack of signage, or other vehicles that were not cited for performing the same parking service. If the ticket involves parking too close to something like a fire hydrant, a photo showing a reasonable distance would help your case. Make sure metadata with time and date is accessible. Signs that are obstructed by trees, or on crooked posts, or that are not “obvious” are also great things to photograph.
• Make sure the statute that was violated is listed on the ticket. If it is not listed, the ticket is not valid.
• Immediately follow the appeal instructions on the ticket. All legitimate tickets will have appeal instructions. Waiting until the last moment weakens your argument and can result in late fees.
• When in court, avoid these phrases as they reduce your credibility and weaken your argument:
  • “I didn’t know the law.”
  • “I was going to move my car.”
  • “I can’t pay this ticket.”
  • “I’ve been doing this for years.”
  • “I checked with the parking officer, who said everything was fine.”
• Contact a lawyer. If you are facing obstacles and feel stuck, you may want to contact a traffic lawyer in your area. Many have free case consultations.

Source: Reader Summary

A driver saw the sign and moved his car – but put it back in front of his house after the sweeper passed his house.

“The street was swept and other cars were also returned,” he told the Calgary City Newsremaining anonymous.

“I looked on the website and behold, there is a paragraph there that says not to return the vehicle before 4 o’clock because the inspection personnel may be passing by.

“It’s kind of a cash grab as far as I’m concerned.”

Todd Sulivan, Parking Patrol and Investigation leader for the city’s parking division, said the reason for the large time gap posted on warning signs is so sweepers can make an additional pass if necessary.

Information is readily available to drivers.

“There is a lot of information about the signs, but we know that people mainly pass by them, so the information is also detailed on the website,” he said.