Old Montreal community group wants crackdown on illegally parked cars

A community group in Old Montreal is demanding better parking enforcement in the historic district.

Last summer, the Old Montreal Community Patrol started noticing an increase in illegally parked cars causing safety issues for pedestrians, reducing lanes and causing traffic congestion, said the group's spokesperson, John Kennedy.

There are concerns about cars parked longer than allowed, or taking up spaces reserved for deliveries only, said Kennedy, who lives and owns a business in the district. He said the illegally parked cars even make it difficult for emergency vehicles to pass.

He said parking enforcement agents have admitted to group members that there is no enforcement on the weekends, but that was already apparent to the group, which had noticed the lack of patrols.

Over the Easter weekend, the group patrolled a six-block radius of Place d'Armes and counted over 428 illegally parked cars, Kennedy said. That includes 88 which were parked in bus stop zones, but no tickets were issued.

John Kennedy of Old Montreal Community Patrol says parking is at a premium in the historic district, and his group wants to see parked cars rotate out. (CBC)

With summer coming, and tens of thousands of visitors expected, Kennedy's group wants to see stricter enforcement.

"Parking is at a premium in Old Montreal. It's very challenging to find a parking spot," said Kennedy, and while public transit is encouraged, some have to drive. "Business owners want customers, but we want the cars to keep moving."

Without parking enforcement, cars will take up spaces all weekend rather than rotating out for new visitors, he said.

Laurent Chevrot, general director of the  Agence de mobilité durable, said parking enforcement officers are trying to intervene wherever they can, with a focus on more serious infractions.

"There's no doubt, we can't be there all the time," he said. "We try to make patrols as regularly as possible."

There are 250 parking enforcement officers on staff for the entire city, and police can intervene as well, he said. Old Montreal is a complicated district for parking enforcement, he added.

He noted that a phone line was opened just last year so citizens can call in to report any illegally parked cars.

In September, Montreal extended the paid-parking hours in a large chunk of Old Montreal and the downtown core so that drivers who park on the street in those areas will have to feed the meter until 11 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Chevrot said parking enforcement officers will soon have cameras mounted on their vehicles that automatically read licence plates and identify illegally parked cars. In that case, tickets can be sent by mail, he said.