You Can’t Park Here

Brent Rose
Managing Editor
If you have ever parked in The Village while you dash off to your three-hour class to avoid having to pay York University’s parking fees, one day you might find a bright yellow ticket slapped to your windshield.
Parking by-laws in the streets around The Village at York neighbourhood south of campus changed recently, from a maximum three hours to one hour between 8 am and 8 pm. According to North York Community Council minutes, the change came after Village residents made numerous complaints about York students abusing the three-hour parking limit.

The new by-law took almost a year to implement after being adopted in July 2010. Anthony Perruzza, Ward 8 York West councillor, said it takes time for new by-laws to be put into practice. The City doesn’t start putting up signs or enforce new laws until everything is finalized.
When the new signs went up March 24, York University tweeted about the new parking regulations, pleading, “We’re just the messenger!” They also published a YFile article with detailed
information.
The new by-laws have left some York students furious.
It’s Anne’s last year York University, and she had never gotten a ticket parking in The Village – until now.
“It’s fucking ridiculous,” she said after learning about the new bylaw and finding a $30 ticket on her car. “[It’s] obviously against students because they know we have three-hour classes, and one-hour parking is trying to prevent us from what we’ve been doing the whole time.”
Many students returning from class to their cars parked in The Village were surprised to learn about the new time-cap. Most of them park in The Village to avoid parking costs at York.
Councillor Peruzza understands the challenges York students face when parking at Keele campus – students paying for expensive parking at York is nothing new.
“I went to York myself and we used to pay steep parking rates, and that’s why I took up riding my bicycle to York,” said Peruzza.
He urged Toronto’s parking authority to construct an underground parking lot under the hydro corridor near Murray Ross, though the city apparently decided they’d be unable to recuperate their losses or maintain the lot financially.
“We know [parking in The Village is] a problem and I would also like to take some of those cars parking in those neighbourhoods out of the neighbourhoods and into a parking lot […] but so far we’ve been unsuccessful with it.”
Peruzza is still very interested in the idea of a parking lot at Murray Ross and said he is continuing to fight for its construction.
Students that park in The Village couldn’t decide whether they’d be willing to bite the bullet and pay for York parking. Some said they’ll still park in The Village because it’s their last year at York; others said paying the fine would still be cheaper than buying a York parking permit. Some students, however, said they’d have no choice but to park at York because of the new bylaw.
The university is still unsure how a one-hour parking limit in The Village will affect the number of students parking at York in the future, said York spokesperson Wallace Pidgeon.
“We just don’t know,” said Pidgeon.
According to Toronto parking enforcement, they usually patrol an area when they receive a lot of complaints from residents in that community. They won’t usually issue more than a ticket a day on a single car.
With the previous three-hour limit, parking officials used to fine drivers $15. The new by-law also allows people to park for free in The Village from  8 am and 8 pm.
York currently charges $1.50 to $2.50 per half-hour, and $10 to $20 per day for parking.
With files from Amelia Ruthven-Nelson