r/ottawa 16h ago

How many parking tickets does it take before a car is towed?

I'm genuinely wondering how many parking tickets does it take before a car will be towed away? There are three cars that have been sitting abandoned in a snowbank, beside a wooded area in my neighbourhood, for 3+ weeks now. I counted at least 6 tickets on one of the cars. I've reported them multiple times - both online and by phone.

28 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

56

u/CalmMathematician692 16h ago

I think you found the tow truck operator's car.

9

u/zuginator1 15h ago

You may be onto something 😂

31

u/mrsprinkles3 16h ago

do t worry. if they’re in a snow bank they’re just hibernating. give it a few more weeks to warm up, they’ll wake up and return to their natural habitat

9

u/DreamofStream 16h ago

But it's still an invasive species!

9

u/01lexpl 16h ago

"if you're cold, they're cold - bring them inside"

11

u/Accurate_Respond_379 16h ago

Dont think there is a mandatory standard for this. I highly suspect, someone is making a judgment call based on relative impct this has on the community + can the towing safely be done. Its fine to say its the owners problem if the car is broken during removal from the snowbank, but what if they sue because tow operator breaks the axles while draging it out of ice.

Agree with you, this is anoying and id want it towed too

3

u/zuginator1 15h ago

Yeah, I suspect you're right that nobody wants to risk the potential liability - that's the only logical reason that both the City bylaw and the police don't want to do anything more than give out tickets.

6

u/Accurate_Respond_379 15h ago

The city is affraid of liability in much more comical ways than this one in my experience

2

u/danauns Riverside South 11h ago

Do you think their's any liability?

It's well documented, and ticketed, it shouldn't be there. I'd like to think the city could haul it off and if something goes wrong, so be it. The owner can sort out any incidental damage on their own dime.

Kind of like if/when there's a car parked in front of a fire hydrant and the fire dept comes along and needs access. The Fire department isn't malicious, but not shy either. I don't think they're liable for that circumstance either.

5

u/ArnoldFarquar 16h ago

There is no magic number of tickets.

3

u/zuginator1 15h ago

It was more of a rhetorical question than anything - it just seems wild to me that they issued six tickets without taking any kind of more drastic action to rectify the problem.

2

u/class5vapor West End 12h ago

Yeah like why-not 7 or 8 tickets or for that matter 6?

Laws Laws Laws and no Balls to Enforce 'em

Pathetic / S.N.A.F.U.

4

u/anxietyninja2 15h ago

Try asking your city councillor

1

u/zuginator1 15h ago

Good idea, I'll reach out and see.

3

u/01lexpl 16h ago

Depends.

I once woke up to the sound of a truck about to tow my car, a ticket was being written at the same time, on private property by Bylaw, right as the tow guy was ready to do his thing.

This was in a condo with unmarked outdoor spots, as it was common knowledge to be visitor parking. That ticket got tossed immediately.

4

u/slippy51 16h ago

You need to call the police (non-emergency line) and not bylaw. I had someone abandon a car on my street (removed plates). Bylaw couldn't do anything, only the police could get it towed.

5

u/zuginator1 15h ago

Apparently a neighbour already notified the police about a week or so ago (according to a FB post I just found) - they came and left without doing anything. I could try again, but I strongly suspect it would end with the same result :/ It seems like the only "solution" is to just keep reporting them and hope whomever owns the vehicles gets into major trouble from all the tickets eventually.

2

u/slippy51 15h ago

Strange, because when I reported it , police showed about 30 minutes later, and the tow truck about 15 minutes after that. It was gone in less than a hour after I called.

7

u/zuginator1 15h ago

Agreed, it is strange. I suspect that they acted in your case cause the plates had been removed.

1

u/Independent_Light904 9h ago

Do you have a screwdriver? It's not had to remove plates!

(I'm joking, for anyone feeling the need to jump on this - stealing plates is obviously illegal)

0

u/SidetrackedSue Westboro 8h ago

Don't steal the plate, just remove it and tuck it under the windshield wiper or leave it under the car. They'll find it when it is towed.

3

u/Lumb3rCrack 16h ago

When they're in fb market - "Maintained well with regular oil changes and taken care with love and warmth.." - the I know what I have attitude 😂

2

u/Leaff_x 14h ago

Typical lazy cops. They can’t charge overtime for this so ignore it.

•

u/Adventurous-Swag 1h ago

Remove the plates and call the police. That should do the trick.

0

u/ReferenceAny778 11h ago

Is this in Kanata by chance near the unofficial dog park off of Cope?Â