Nearly 300 vehicles were towed and more than 1,400 were ticketed during a four-day crack down on vehicles parked illegally during rush hour last week.
The campaign, which was the latest initiative in the city’s ongoing quest to introduce a zero tolerance policy on vehicles blocking rush-hour routes, began last Tuesday and wrapped up on Friday.
During the run of the campaign, police towed 298 vehicles and tagged another 1,467.
The campaign focused on an area bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Front Street to the south, Parliament Street to the east and Dufferin Street to the west.
Discussing the blitz with CP24 during an aerial tour of traffic on Monday, Tory said the sheer number of violations is alarming.
“I am disappointed they are so high. This is all about people simply obeying the laws that are there,” he said. “It is clearly posted on signs that have been there for years and the sort of consideration for others should just say that you don’t park on busy streets during rush hour because what happens is that hundreds of other people will be inconvenienced while you get your coffee or drop off your dry cleaning.”
The city began holding periodic crackdowns on vehicles that park illegally during rush hour shortly after Tory took over as mayor.
Though Tory said that some drivers have begun to get the message, he said that others continue to float the law, making further blitzes necessary.
“I wish we could deploy these officers to other things because there are more important things to do but we have to change people’s behavior and get the city moving,” he said.
The city has not released statistics for how many vehicles are towed or ticketed during a typical four-day period, however Tory said that he has been told that there was a significant increase during the blitz.
