Parking Fines Going Up in Toronto This Summer

Nathan Phillips Square and Toronto City Hall in Toronto on April 23 2020. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

Fines for parking violations are going up in the City of Toronto starting in August.

City councilors voted in favour of increasing the fines for over 100 parking violations—from parking on a footpath or failing to use parking machines to parking without a valid permit.

The vote passed 20 to 1 during a council meeting on April 17.

Coun. Jennifer McKelvie said council ultimately decided on a “Goldilocks approach.”

“We had some bears that thought that the fines were too high, and we had some bears that thought that the fines were too low, and I think in the end city staff have come back with fines that are really just right,” she said at the council meeting.

The decision was based on a report [pdf] from the Infrastructure and Environment Committee released on March 12 that reviewed penalty fees for street parking violations.

The report said the city had seen a “general increase” in the number of parking violations since the pandemic and “general parking and traffic offences trended upward over the last five-years.”

In 2019, parking violations issued for infractions that are slated to be updated with higher fines numbered 1,547,480. Those numbers dropped in 2020 to 979, 204.

The numbers have increased from 1,020,044 in 2021 to 1,295,160 in 2022. In 2023, the number of violations came to 1,660,401, according to the report.

Parking infraction fees in Toronto are generally lower than in surrounding jurisdictions and have not been adjusted to inflation, according to the report.

The report notes that the city could earn up to $62 million with the new fee structure.

Some of the changes that will come into effect on August 1 include a $50 increase for parking in a bike lane. Currently, the fine is $150 and will be increasing to $200. Not paying a required fee at parking machines will rise from $30 to $50.

New regulations for electric vehicle parking and charging will also be introduced, according to the report. Operators of off-street parking facilities currently have “limited enforcement capabilities around EV charging” due to a lack of guidelines in the city’s municipal code concerning EV-designated parking spots, said the document.

The new fee structure will apply a $75 fine to vehicles parked in EV charging spots that are not actively charging.

Ms. McKelvie said she expected pushback from residents on the new fines.

“There is an option for every citizen of Toronto, and that is to park legally and not pay the fine,” she said.