Ottawa’s parking enforcement officers had a busy first six months of the year, issuing thousands of parking tickets to drivers for infractions. The second quarter financial services update for the finance and corporate services committee said the Emergency and Protective Services department posted a $1.6 million surplus in the January to July period, “due to higher than anticipated parking fine revenues and deferred spending on materials and services.” Bylaw and Regulatory Services tells CTV News Ottawa Bylaw Services officers issued 177,251 parking tickets between Jan. 1 and June 30, up from 171,467 tickets during the same period last year. “The most common infractions included no parking, no stopping, parking in excess of three hours, and failure to pay in a pay-and-display zone,” Jake Gravelle, Chief of Bylaw and Regulatory Services, told CTV News Ottawa. “The year-over-year increase can be attributed to several factors, including population growth, enhanced enforcement in school zones and an increase in service requests.” Increasing no-stopping/no-parking fines The City of Ottawa is set to increase fines for no-stopping and no-parking violations in the downtown core this fall, as part of the plan to keep traffic flowing. The city is extending peak morning and afternoon no-parking and no-stopping times by 30 minutes on several streets. The no-parking/no-stopping times will be extended to 9:30 a.m. during the morning commute and from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the afternoon commute. As of Sept. 1, the fine for stopping in a no-stopping area in the downtown corridor will increase from $130 to $195, with an early payment option of $165. The fine for a no-parking zone violation in the downtown core will increase from $90 to $135, with an early payment option of $105. The “critical downtown corridors” that will see increased fines for no-parking and no-stopping violations are:
