Councillor vows to look into snow route tows after storm of controversy

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This article was published 06/02/2024 (583 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After a blizzard of complaints about the City of Winnipeg ticketing and towing vehicles parked on snow routes — despite there being virtually no snow — a change could be in the forecast.

Coun. Janice Lukes, who as chair of the public works committee oversees the city’s plowing operations, said she will ask the administration whether towing operations can be suspended if snow clearing isn’t required.

“We can look into the question of just ticketing and not towing vehicles,” Lukes said on Tuesday.

“I will bring it up at public works as to when there is no snow, do they need to tow?”

But Lukes said the issue has been raised in the past.

“Two years ago, when we had the $85-million snowfall, there were vehicles parked for months that never moved on these snow routes,” she said. “Should we have discretion? When we do, one person likes it and another doesn’t.”

Hundreds of vehicles have been towed from a snow route in the middle of the night since the city enacted the winter route parking ban on Jan. 16, after the first significant snow dump of the season.

Since then, the city hasn’t had further snowfall and temperatures have been so warm that most streets are bare.

The mercury even climbed to an above average high of 8 C last week.

The fee for parking on a snow route is $100, but is reduced to $75 if it is paid within 14 days. The towing fee is $130.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said the towing of vehicles “definitely looks like a cash grab.”

Jim Bender said he forgot to move his vehicle off Corydon Avenue Saturday night and when he went out on Sunday morning it was gone.

Bender said he doesn’t understand why the city couldn’t have just ticketed his vehicle and left it on the street.

“There was absolutely no reason to tow the vehicle because they tow to clear the streets for the plows, but there were no plows out,” he said.

“Now I’ve got a $75 parking fine and a $130 towing fee and it should have been just $75.”

St. Boniface resident Suzanne LeMadec said both her vehicle, and another she is looking after for a neighbour who is away, were towed last Thursday.

“It was a $500 day for us. It was totally insane,” LeMadec said. “I was livid for three days.”

“We are seniors and we live in a condo where they were sweeping the parkade the next day. So we thought let’s just move the vehicles tonight (to the street) — and we were towed.

“But there is no snow (so) just give us a ticket.”

LeMadec said it cost her $28 for a cab to the Tartan Towing compound on Dawson Road North.

“There were 150 cars there and eight or nine angry people behind us and I don’t blame them,” she said. “Imagine if you were going to work and your car was gone.

“I would never have parked on the street if I’d known.”

LeMadec appealed to the Winnipeg Parking Authority and got the ticket knocked down to $50.

City spokeswoman Julie Dooley said when a vehicle is parked on a snow route and ticketed, it is authorized to be towed.

“In some cases, not all ticketed vehicles will be towed due to resources and the short window during which the ban is in place (2 a.m. to 7 a.m.), however the vehicle owner is still responsible (for) the penalty notice fine,” she said.

Dooley said on Monday city enforcement officers issued 109 tickets. “We do not yet have the total number of tows completed,” she said.

She said the $130 charge taken by the towing company includes a $30 administrative fee which is collected by the city.

Dooley said statistics for the number of tickets and tows in winter 2022-23 aren’t yet available.

In 2021-22, 8,952 tickets were issued and two vehicles were towed while in 2020-21, 7,775 tickets were handed out and 18 vehicles were towed.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) said apartment residents in older neighbourhoods such as Wolseley, in her ward, find it hard to park on-street at the best of times.

“There is no parking with the apartment buildings so they look for street parking and it is a challenge,” Gilroy said.

“I understand the city wanting to do a thorough job of street cleaning, but sometimes you have to live and learn. Maybe there’s a better way.”

Gilroy said the same app the city uses to let people know when a residential street is going to be plowed could be harnessed to send out information that a snow route is about to be cleared.

“I hope we review our policy.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca