Parking fines going up

Risk-taking motorists in the downtown may want to re-think their parking strategy.

The city is preparing a by-law to increase parking fines to $20, or $15 if paid early. City Clerk Steph Palmateer says currently, fines start at $8 and isn’t enough to give people an incentive to pay.

It costs six dollars to feed the meter for eight hours.

“We can’t cover every parking space in the City of Timmins on a daily basis,” he said, “People just aren’t paying for parking because they’ll take the chance.”

The original recommendation proposed a $25 fine, $20 if paid within the first five days.

Timmins offers the lowest fines among the five major Northern centres.

Sault Ste. Marie starts at $10, both North Bay and Thunder Bay begin at $15 and Sudbury starts at $25.

Council gave the consensus to move ahead and this will come back for formal approval at the next council meeting.

CLICK HERE to see the full discussion, under Item 3B.