No free parking in Toronto starting on Family Day

Why Toronto ended free street parking on holidays Toronto says increased competition for curb space with various infrastructure led to the end of free street parking on statutory holidays.

Toronto drivers will no longer be able to park on the street for free during the holidays.

Typically, police have not enforced paid on-street parking rules on the nine statutory holidays celebrated in Ontario.

But on Feb. 19—also known as the statutory holiday Family Day—all of that will change.

In a news release, the Toronto Police Service said the change was in response to the “evolving needs of our growing city, where the demand for parking has significantly increased.”

They cited streetcar corridors, bike lanes and CafeTO as reasons why there is increased competition for curb space, in addition to “other infrastructure developments.”

“Historically, it has been a practice not to enforce, but there are no by-laws that explicitly exempt statutory holidays from enforcement and this change aligns with existing bylaws that permit enforcement on those days,” officials said in the release.

Money collected from parking tickets goes to the City of Toronto.

In October, city council voted to increase penalties for parking violations from $30 to $75 for parking or leaving a vehicle on municipal property without consent.