Saskatoon woman with hefty parking fines asks for grace period for accessible parking

A Saskatoon woman who has been fined hundreds of dollars by parking enforcement officials wants city council to consider changing a bylaw to give those with special parking spaces and placards a 48-hour grace period when a violation ticket is issued.

During Tuesday’s Transportation Committee meeting, Karen Kobussen asked city council to consider an amendment to policy C07-026.

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It defines criteria for the “installation of on-street accessible parking areas.” It also defines an accessible parking permit, Access Transit and an on-street accessible parking area. The policy outlines eligibility criteria for use of the permit, as well as regulations governing the permit, according to the City of Saskatoon website.

According to the city’s website, Saskatoon will consider installing an accessible parking space in front of a resident’s home where there is public parking, on a case-by-case basis.

There are several rules an applicant must follow. They include having a valid Saskatchewan Abilities Council placard, no front-property driveway access and providing specific information to the city about a homeowner’s property line.

Kobussen told council she had already registered all the information about the accessible parking stall for a vehicle her father drives.

But on three occasions, he still received $210 tickets because the disability placard wasn’t properly displayed.

The first time a ticket was issued, the city waived it.

“Then we got another ticket, and now this third ticket. That, we are actually going to court and we’re going to fight it,” she said.

“I’m here today to ask you, in the case of a residential requested parking stall in front of someone’s house, where a valid placard is not displayed … I would request that we give them 48 hours to come and provide a valid placard,” she told council.

In a letter to the city, Kobussen called the action “punitive.”

“As a result, a resident who has already demonstrated eligibility through the City’s application process is treated no differently than someone who is unlawfully using an accessible parking space.

“This is not a failure on the part of the resident. Rather, it highlights a disconnect between the City’s approval process and the information available to parking enforcement,” the letter read.

Kobussen said some municipalities in Ontario did provide a 48-hour timeline, although she didn’t name them.

Coun. Scott Ford asked Kobussen why the placard wasn’t properly displayed to begin with.

“My dad is so afraid of it hanging down while driving … I’ve called Sask. Abilities and they’ve even said, ‘Yeah, don’t drive with it hanging from your mirror,’ so the placard was actually up in his visor,” she said.

According to Matt Grazier, director of community standards, the city issues about 1,000 tickets per year to drivers who don’t properly display a placard. However, enforcement officers don’t separate them into commercial or residential offences.

A motion by Coun. Robert Pearce requested that the matter be referred to the city solicitor’s office for a report back to council on whether the policy should be changed.