An audit of pay stations in the Exchange, Downtown and Health Sciences areas has found that a clear majority are taking payment from parkers outside of legally prescribed times - this despite repeated assurances of the award-winning Winnipeg Parking Authority that their vaunted technology prevents such after-hours fee charging from happening.
Kim the Traffic Reporter found:
* Payments are being accepted outside of the legal hours the WPA can charge for parking, including taking payment on Sundays, such as the 300 block of Ross Avenue, which Coun. Jeff Browaty was told months ago was a glitch and would be fixed. Not only was it not fixed, the number of machines that did so steadily increased.
* Contradictory signage is resulting in confused WPA officers writing up parking tickets for "no receipt" after 3.30 on Saturdays, when parking ought to be free. Many of the victims of that cash-grab are visitors to the Women's Pavilion on Notre Dame Avenue, who only buy time until 3.30 PM as instructed by the street signs and are swooped down upon by the patrol within 15 minutes.
* The restrictions placed upon the WPA by the street signs, such as 'paid parking until 3.30 PM', are being illegally over-ridden by the WPA trick on motorsists. Miniscule stickers on the front of the pay station no one reads, listing a later time ie "17.30" (5.30 PM), is being used to justify tickets being issued.
* Over half a dozen areas have signs issues so those streets are unenforceable.
* In May, the WPA began programming pay stations and designating Exchange District streets such as Adelaide as 12 hour parking areas, requiring payment of up to $8.00, just like 300 block Ross Avenue. These were also set-up to REQUIRE payment before 9 AM and after 5.30 PM contrary to the city bylaw.
However within a week, all these machines were reverted to their previous 2 hour limit state, with city crews scrambling to change the street signage back again after having just changed it to read "12H'.
Kim the Traffic reporter reports:
Improper programming- the Sunday rip-off:
Here is the tally of meters I checked on 3 separate Sundays to see if they would issue tickets:
114 total of meters checked.
68 either issued receipts or was willing to accept payment = 60%
36 meters said "no charge" when payment was attempted
10 meters were broken 8.5%
All meters checked were located in the Exchange, East/West and West Alexander areas. The meters checked were a random sampling where more than one meter per street existed.
Improper programming- the Saturday rip-off
The total count of meters checked regarding the rush hour zones on Saturdays accepting payment after 3:30 was:
30 paystations in the downtown area.
6 meters around the HSC area .
3 machines out of order
For a grand total of 36 meters accepting payment after 3:30PM on Saturdays.
Saturday sign conflicts making pay stations unenforceable:
METERS IN A RUSH HOUR ZONE REGARDING SATURDAY PARKING AFTER 3:30:
* I have checked every rush hour street in the downtown and exchange area. Again, this is a random sampling of machines, however, I checked multiple machines on the same streets.
All the signs read: paid parking 09:00-15:30 Mon-Sat.
EVERY SINGLE MACHINE I CHECKED ALSO HAD A SMALL SIGN ON IT THAT STATED PAID SATURDAY PARKING FROM 09:00-17:30.
This is unenforceable as the traffic devise (signage) allows paid parking ONLY until 3:30 on Saturdays.
* On Balmoral next to the U of W has interesting signage.
In the morning from 7 to 9 and the afternoons from 3:30 to 5:30 Mon-Fri, this street becomes on long loading zone. From 9 to 3:30 it is paid parking, the signage reads paid parking 09:00-15:30 Mon-Sat.
On the meters a tiny sticker indicates paid parking from 9-17:30 (5.30 PM) on Saturdays. Again in conflict with the signage.
Confusing I know. First I saw these signs, I was confused.
None of the above meters either on Balmoral or in any rush hour zone after 3:30pm on a Saturday are enforceable. The traffic devices trump any signs on the paystations. Says so in the Highway Traffic Act. (can provide the act section and wording if needed).
Some of the trouble spots I came across in all my travels include:
- On Ellen between Alexander and Pacific I came across a paystation with NO signage. A few weeks after first checking that paystation I checked again, there was still no signage.
- On Pacific from Lily to Martha there is conflicting signage, one sign saying paid parking until 17:30 (5:30pm) the other sign states paid parking until 15:30 (3:30pm). I also came across the same signage issues on Pacific from Paulin to Ellen. Conflicting signage, one sign reads monday to friday, the other sign reads monday to saturday. Both these locations are unenforceable due to the conflict.
- Additional signage issues include Waterfront from James to Pacific. One sign indicates unpaid time restricted parking. A previous check had the same area with two such signs, upon a return trip noted that one sign now reads paid parking, while the other sign is still a time restricted unpaid zone. Unenforceable.
- On Galt the entire street has been shut down to parking with temporary no stopping signs put into place due to street construction on Duncan. The meters which SHOULD be hooded are not.
The machines are still accepting payment. This was on a Sunday when I checked, so if they are accepting on a Sunday, they will accept during the week. The only ticket that can be issued is a no stopping tag.
- I found 4 streets with paystation signage but no meters. The meters were located either across the street or on a completely different street, such as:
James at the corner of Amy, the signage is there, but no paystation. Rupert between King and Princess has the same issue as does Notre Dame between Albert and Arthur. ALL UNENFORCEABLE, as the WPA cannot force anyone to cross a street to buy a parking receipt.
- A further troublesome spot is on the north side of Logan between King and Princess.
One of the paystation signs still remains, however I was told that an accident had taken out the signage and the meter had been removed. This area is troublesome because of the vehicles or rather the size of the vehicles that travel in this area.
The large vehicles such as tractor trailer units, buses and most importantly, Fire Trucks cannot make the turn off King onto Logan if there are vehicles parked near the corner. Which is why there is normally such a long no stopping section in this location. I have been told by people in the area that buses are having a very difficult time making the turn and at times must back-up to try to make that turn.
