Starting this month, private parking lot owners in Ottawa can issue city parking tickets.
However, not all private lot operators are excited to have the new authority.
Denis Condie, who owns Ottawa Parking Services, said there are cynics in his industry who believe the city will eventually legislate private parking lots out of business.
“We are skeptically hopeful that the program will be a success. We are relying on our government leaders to be leaders and fair leaders throughout this process,” said Condie. “Anytime you deal to be with the government you have to go into it cautiously because they don’t always have the best interest at hand. But we’re about to find out.”
A city media relations staffer said they are not in a position to comment on its relationship with private parking companies, but the goal of the bylaw is to license and regulate private parking enforcement agencies. City media relations staff would not identify themselves due to the “sensitive nature” of the material being discussed.
Before the bylaw, private parking lots could issue city tickets without making any additional profit, or write tickets of their own.
Under the new rules, vehicles that violate a private parking lot’s terms will receive a city parking ticket from a private parking employee.
Bylaw officials say they hope to eliminate “look-alike” parking tickets that are confusing and leave little or unreliable recourse for ticket recipients who mistake them for municipal tickets.
“It’s good for private industry when everyone is playing by the same book,” said Condie.
Private parking companies and the city will split the ticket revenue.
It’s too early to forecast how much revenue this bylaw will bring in, an Ottawa media relations staffer said.
A City of Ottawa parking ticket is $55, so while the private companies will only receive a portion of that amount from the fines, Condie hopes more tickets will be paid.
“The city has a bigger hammer than we do,” said Condie. “They can take away the privilege of having a license or plates for your vehicle.”
Close to 32 of his employees are training with the City of Ottawa to be private parking enforcement agents.
While the city is set to make money, Condie said the new relationship will also help punish parking companies who take advantage of misleading signage.
For example, “overnight parking” might mean until 6 a.m. in one lot, but midnight in another.
The City said this bylaw change provides “consumer protection” for people who receive parking tickets on private property.
“There are places where the system could be manipulated, but the city over time will weed them out. We hope the city will be fair at all times,” said Condie.