‘It was not enough notice’: Vehicles towed after no-parking signs suddenly changed

Winnipeg residents are not happy with the amount of notice given for parking zone changes that resulted in their vehicles being towed. CTV’s Jon Hendricks reports.

A number of residents living on a Winnipeg street woke up to learn their cars had been towed — all due to a quick change in the street’s no-parking signs.

“Usually they do a courtesy tow,” said resident Tricia Brock, whose vehicle was towed in May. “But they impounded and gave me a ticket. It was $350.”

Leo Kopelow had a similar experience when his vehicle was towed off Home Street, but he was able to chase after the tow truck hauling his vehicle.

“So, I sprint down the block, truck turns a corner,” Kopelow recalled. “I turn the corner; it turns another corner. I turn another corner. Finally, he sees me waving him down in his rearview mirror and stops.”

Kopelow said the tow truck driver told him there was no parking allowed on Home Street that day. There was even a sign telling residents not to park on Wednesday.

However, on Tuesday, the sign had a different date on it.

“Somebody has put a sticker over the sign that changed it from no parking Thursday to no parking Wednesday,” Kopelow said.

Kopelow contested his ticket and the fine was eventually reduced to zero. However, he hasn’t been reimbursed for the cost of the tow.

The Winnipeg Parking Authority told him that refunds are only granted in cases where the vehicle was towed unlawfully — not in cases of personal circumstances. The request for a refund was denied.

Kopelow doesn’t believe that is fair. “All these neighbours, everyone’s paying tickets and getting towed for completely nonsensical reasons and then no support,” he said.

In a statement, the city said the cleaning was originally scheduled for May 15, but was rescheduled to May 21 due to weather.

“As required by the Winnipeg Parking By-law, we placed signage 24 hours in advance of both the original and rescheduled dates. The rescheduled cleaning proceeded as planned on May 21,” the statement reads.

The spokesperson said in some cases, the city can reduce a ticket to a warning without voiding or dismissing it, but residents will still be on the hook for the tow payment.