Just 10 Toronto locations accounted for more than 30K parking tickets last year. Here is the list
Toronto drivers are racking up parking tickets in the thousands — from hospital campuses to popular concert venues — city data reveals 10 street addresses accounting for more than 30,000 fines in 2024.
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Toronto drivers are racking up parking tickets in the thousands — from hospital campuses to popular concert venues — city data reveals 10 street addresses accounting for more than 30,000 fines in 2024.
According to city data, parking enforcement is concentrated around major destinations, often where demand for spots far outweighs supply. In total, about 2.8 million tickets are issued annually across Toronto. Last year, 57 individual addresses each saw more than 1,000 tickets, adding up to nearly 100,000 tickets between them.
Experts say these numbers highlight a deeper issue: Toronto is struggling to balance car dependence, limited parking, and underdeveloped transit alternatives. “There’s no way in this region… that you’re going to be able to build enough parking for everyone at the peak period,” said Matti Siemiatycki, a professor of geography and planning at the University of Toronto. (LEFT: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young. RIGHT: UofT photo).
Using numbers from the city's open data portal, CTV News was able to analyze the most recorded locations and create a map displaying nearby destinations and tourist attractions.
Here's a list of the top 10 in order. (CTV News photo)
10. (100 Ethennonnhawahstihnen Lane) – 2,246 tickets: The Ethennonnhawahstihnen Community Centre and nearby Bessarion Subway Station combined to make this North York address a ticketing hot spot. City planners say these patterns show “the challenges we’re having, especially outside the downtown core,” where drivers often default to cars despite transit access. (Google street view).
9. (19 Grand Trunk Crescent) – 2,267 tickets: This Etobicoke waterfront location is steps from Humber Bay Park just out front of high-rise condos. Siemiatycki says the circling for spots in condo-heavy neighbourhoods “creates a ton of traffic” and exposes the imbalance between residents, visitors, and public space. (Google street view).
8. (15 Marine Parade Drive) – 2,612 tickets: Just further west, this address faced similar problems. Parking demand in Humber Bay Shores outpaces supply, particularly on weekends when the waterfront draws visitors. “If you charge too low for something, it gets overused,” Siemiatycki noted, pointing to pricing as a lever to manage congestion. (Google street view).
7. (160 Marine Parade Drive) – 2,626 tickets: A third Etobicoke address in the top 10 reflecting the intensity of parking pressure along the waterfront. In an email to CTV, the city acknowledged that “too much parking, parking in the wrong places and poor parking management” contribute to congestion and lost opportunities for better land use. (Google street view).
6. (15 Ontario Drive) – 2,671 tickets Parking chaos is all too familiar to anyone attending an event at Ontario Place or Budweiser Stage. During concerts and summer weekends, enforcement can be known to surge. “What you want is to price the parking at a rate that it turns over,” said Siemiatycki, arguing that quick turnover is more effective than simply writing tickets. (Google street view).
5. (1265 Military Trail) – 2,938 tickets: The University of Toronto Scarborough campus continues to draw tickets, as campus officials tell CTV most stem from pay-and-display lots and non-parking zones.
“These violations occur due to drivers choosing not to pay, not paying for the entire time… or parking outside designated spaces,” a UTSC spokesperson said.
The university said it has invested in clear signage and upgraded systems but stressed that all revenues from tickets go to the City, not the campus. (Google street view).
4. (18 Hendon Avenue) – 3,864 tickets: This parking lot near Finch Station has also become a magnet for ticketing, data shows. Experts say many drivers use the area for park-and-rides. “The subway transit is like the best in the city,” Siemiatycki noted. “But how you get there… people are park-and-riding, because in many cases, getting there by transit is not convenient or takes a long time.” (Google street view).
3. (31 A Parliament Street) – 3,977 tickets: The Distillery District remains one of downtown’s most ticketed areas, where tourist traffic often collides with limited parking during peak seasons. “The map shows the challenges we’re having,” said Siemiatycki, adding that Toronto hasn’t yet made transit a “real viable alternative” for many weekend visitors especially in light of the city's ongoing construction. (Google street view).
2. (2075 Bayview Avenue) – 4,526 tickets: Sunnybrook Hospital is the city’s second-biggest hot spot for tickets. Siemiatycki calls Sunnybrook “a huge destination and trip generator,” where drivers often gamble on short-term stops in no-parking areas. The city says effective management is about “maximizing the use of space to serve diverse user needs” rather than building endless lots. (Google street view).
1. (1 Brimley Road South) – 5,318 tickets: At the top of the list: Bluffers Park, one of Toronto’s busiest waterfront destinations in the summer. Tickets spike during peak weekends when lots fill early.
“The challenge is that they’re busy at their peak times, and then at their non-peak times, they have acres and acres of empty parking,” said Siemiatycki. “We haven’t figured out how to provide excellent public transit on the weekends.” (Google street view).
Full list of the top 10 (CTV News photo).
The city says parking remains "a critical part" of Toronto’s "urban fabric," and stresses that parking in the wrong places fuels congestion which leads to unreliable transit.
