Most-ticketed street? Most-ticketed vehicle? Everything you need to know about parking tickets in Hamilton
You think you've have too many parking tickets? One vehicle in Hamilton racked up more than $12,000 in tickets over a two-year period, according to city data.
Ouch.
The 2019 and 2020 city-wide parking data, provided exclusively to The Spectator by the city of Hamilton, shows the number of parking tickets dropped during the pandemic, as did ticket revenue. This, the city says, is due to the pandemic and changing ticketing practices - much of the enforcement post-March 2020 was put on hold as officers were redeployed to help with emergency operations efforts.
According to the Spectator analysis, a total of 139,500 tickets were handed out in 2019. Just 96,500 were handed out in 2020 - about 43,000 fewer than the year before.
The starkest drop came in the month of April, when the pandemic was taking a firm hold in Hamilton. Just 3,000 tickets were handed out, compared to 11,400 in April 2019.
The revenue, however, didn't change as dramatically. Parking tickets pulled in $4.4 million in revenue in 2019, dropping to $3.7 million in 2020.
Amanda McIlveen, manager of parking operations and initiatives with the city, said that's partially because getting a ticket and paying a ticket don't necessarily happen in the same year. For instance, if you choose not to pay your ticket, the bill will still find you when you go to renew your licence plate sticker the following year or the one after. That's when you're hit with the full ticket cost, plus late fees.
She expects the revenue drop in 2021 to be the same, due to fewer tickets handed out in 2020.
As for that one unlucky vehicle with more than $12,000 in tickets? It appears to be a UPS truck. The city data lists all licence plates associated with ticketed vehicles, and according to provincial vehicle ownership records, the vehicle is registered to a Concord, Ont. address for UPS.
UPS didn't respond to questions about the vehicle or its policies on receiving or paying parking tickets.
Most of the vehicle's tickets were issued around King Street West and James Street North. Thousands of dollars in tickets remain unpaid, according to the city data.
While it remains unclear why that one vehicle so often ended up ticketed, McIlveen said demand for curbside parking did increase in the pandemic. Think: more Amazon delivery drop-offs, more businesses forced to operate with curbside pickup only and more people ordering takeout.
But that wasn't the only vehicle to rack up tickets in the thousands of dollars. In 2019, 34 vehicles were slapped with more than $1,000 in tickets. In 2020, 17 vehicles hit the $1,000 mark.
As for how much your ticket costs, that depends what you've done wrong. Tickets range from $25 for exceeding a parking meter's time limit to $350 for parking in a space reserved for someone who is disabled.
If you don't pay up, the price goes up. If the ticket is paid in 15 days, you pay the original amount. Wait longer than 15 days but fewer than 46 days, you pay $15 more. Wait longer than 45 days but fewer than 76 days and you pay $30 more.
On day 76, the ticket enters plate denial" status, which means you'll pay $35 more and have to pay the ticket at Service Ontario when you renew your sticker.
A ticket might not be the worst of your worries.
McIlveen says vehicles that remain parked on a street with a 12-hour limit for longer than 12 hours will be ticketed and issued a final warning. A second ticket and tow can take place as soon as 12 hours after the first ticket is issued.
Vehicles involved in other parking violations can be towed after two tickets and a final warning are issued. Tickets must be issued at least six hours apart. After that point, tires are marked with chalk and a final warning is issued. The vehicle can be towed any time after this, McIlveen says.
Here's what the Spectator analysis found:
With all the data provided by the city, we're able to give you the inside scoop on the most-ticketed streets, most-ticketed vehicles, etc. - but please, no invoices to The Spec. Our insights aren't guaranteed to prevent that little yellow slip from ending up on your windshield. (The Spec recommends always following parking bylaws and feeding parking meters.)
Street you're most likely to get a ticket on:
In 2019: King Street West (5,115 tickets), James Street North (2,736), King Street East (2,630), Victoria Avenue North (2,577);
In 2020: King Street West (2,998), King Street East (1,919), James Street North (1,378), Bold Street (1,339).
Time you're most likely to get a ticket: 11 a.m. in 2019; same in 2020.
Time you're least likely to get a ticket: 6 a.m. in 2019; 5 a.m. in 2020.
Day you're most likely to get a ticket: Sept. 16 in 2019; March 5 in 2020.
Vehicle most likely to get a ticket: Ford, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Dodge in 2019; same in 2020.
Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com