City called ‘heartless’ for towing handicap vehicle

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This article was published 11/12/2018 (2654 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SAM Schellenberg says it was bad enough that the city ticketed and towed dozens of vehicles from the Exchange District last week, but towing his vehicle was “heartless” because his wife uses a scooter and their vehicle was in a disabled parking spot.

Schellenberg said he and his wife of more than 50 years, Caroline, went to last Wednesday evening’s Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre production of It’s a Wonderful Life. When they came out, their vehicle was gone — along with the vehicles of several other theatre patrons including people living with disabilities.

They soon learned their vehicle was one of dozens the city had towed because they had parked in temporary no-parking zones.

Schellenberg said his wife has Parkinson’s disease and is subject to falling so she uses a scooter at home and when she goes out.

“It is truly heartless,” Schellenberg said Tuesday.

“It is an outrage. I’m angry at them for towing a handicap vehicle.”

The city has said the temporary “no parking” signs were put up the day before the towing, but many motorists, including Schellenberg, said they didn’t see them planted in the snow beside the streets.

“Because it is so hard to park near the theatre, and there are so few disabled parking spots, we go early to try to get the spot,” he said, noting he was able to park right across from the theatre on Rorie Street.

“We called the towing compound and they said there were 100 people in line to get their vehicles back,” he said.

“There’s no way my wife could wait that long so we took a (specialized) cab home and then I took a cab to the compound the next day. It cost $185 for the towing and the two cab rides.

“These are mature adults at MTC and the symphony and most of them are seniors. If it wasn’t for us, these places wouldn’t exist. The city needs to give consideration about how they behave.”

Schellenberg said he also doesn’t even have a ticket because, when he went to the towing compound, there wasn’t a ticket underneath his windshield.

The city confirmed last week that 80 vehicles were ticketed on Dec. 5, while 57 vehicles were towed. With a fine of $150, or $112.50 for early payment, it means the city earned about $12,000 from motorists, while towing companies received an additional $120 fee from people bailing out their vehicles.

City spokesman Kalen Qually said the snow clearing — and the towing that went along with it — occurred because 10.2 centimetres of snow fell on Nov. 28 to 29 the week before.

“Plows were initiated to address the roadways and sidewalks on those days,” Qually said.

“The city began hauling snow from curbside/boulevard collection sites on Dec. 2. To accommodate this hauling operation, city crews posted temporary “No Parking” signs on specific streets in the Exchange on the afternoon of Tuesday, Dec. 4. These signs remained in place on Wednesday night when crews began working there.”

Qually said a person can call 311 if they want to know if their vehicle has been ticketed and, if they want to see a photo taken of the offence committed, they can make arrangements by following the instructions on the ticket.

David Kron, executive director of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba and past chairman of the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities, said he would stop short of telling the city not to tow a vehicle with a disability parking pass on it.

“We’re all people and we have to be responsible for where we park,” Kron said.

“I wouldn’t want special treatment just because I have the parking pass. There shouldn’t be two sets of rules or people will abuse the parking passes.”

But Kron said there is something the city can do.

“If they’re putting up signs they have to put them where they are seen at the (disabled parking) spots. That would be a reasonable accommodation — putting up extra signs.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca