Abuse of accessible parking permits rising

Police board hears tickets up 25 per cent in one year

More people are abusing and misusing accessible parking permits in Toronto, says report.
More people are abusing and misusing accessible parking permits in Toronto, says report. Ryan Orlecki

The number of drivers abusing and misusing accessible parking permits in Toronto is rising, according to a Toronto Police Services report.

The report to the Toronto Police Services Board on Thursday noted 16,104 parking tickets were issued regarding accessible parking permits in 2016.

That’s an increase of 25 percent over the 12,877 tickets issued in 2015.

“The majority of abuse involves valid A.P.P.s which are being used by persons other than the named permit holder,” the report said.

Vice chair Chin Lee said he has received a number of complaints regarding the abuse and misuse of accessible parking permits.

People abuse accessible parking permits to be able to park at a convenient location or get free parking in a paid-parking area.

The report recommended a secondary physician review accessible parking permit approvals to strengthen the integrity of the program. It also recommended temporary permits be returned once a permanent one is received, so that two valid permits are not available at the same time.

The report also proposed that accessible parking permits include photo identification.

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Posted: Mar 5 2017 6:11 pm
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