Meter-Made
Toronto, ON
Female, 30
I currently work as a Parking Enforcement Officer in the wonderful city of Toronto. I am feared, and loathed by all. I may not work in your particular city, but I'm positive that I can help give you a better understanding of what Meter Maids do. I am knowledgeable in all parking matters so ask me anything.
If you are parked at an actual parking meter (not a pay and display machine) and it it out of order, you will more than likely get a ticket. In Toronto, the bylaw clearly states that no one should park next to a broken meter. If you are parked near a pay and display machine, and it is not in working order, the same rule applies, but you may use any machine on that given street to purchase a receipt. If you are on a street that only has one pay and display machine, it might be best to find parking elsewhere. There really is no such thing as free parking in larger cities like Toronto, so when in doubt, don't park there at all. We are not responsible for maintaining the machines, therefore it is hard for us to notice that a meter or a pay and display machine is broken. If you have received a ticket because of a broken meter or pay and display machine there is now an online dispute process (http://www.toronto.ca/pay-toronto-tickets/disputes.htm). Unfortunately this process is not yet available for any other infractions.
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We do not have a quota. We do have a performance standard that we have to attain to show that we are actually out there working. The city has calculated the average ticket number in every area in the city, and officers assigned to these zones should be getting roughly the same amount as their counterparts on different shifts.
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If the officer who issued the ticket does not attend court, then the case is withdrawn. So yes, you win. However, we are required to attend court, and will more than likely be there. The only time we do not attend court is if we are scheduled to be on leave, we are sick or if there is a shortage of officers on duty and we are required to work.
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There are many different kinds of disabled parking zones in Toronto, so it's hard for me to tell what you got the ticket for. I've only ever seen one disabled zone that stated specific times and days in all of the areas I have worked in, so you may be correct. You always have a chance to fight things in court, so I suggest you set a court date. I always recommend that individuals who receive parking tickets in disabled parking zones set court dates, regardless of whether they plead guilty or not guilty since the fine is $450. If you have a chance you should also go back to the area you received the ticket and even review the signs before your court date. If you are still unsure you can also ask to speak to the officer who issued you the ticket when you check in with the prosecutor. At the very least, pleading guilty can help with getting the fine reduced.
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LOL...I hadn't seen that video before now. I personally wouldn't lose it on a "good Samaritan" but there's only so much you can do before you lose your cool. Obviously this was just done to cause a reaction and it worked. I've heard of this situation occurring to a coworker. A man took it upon himself to jump ahead of the officer in an attempt to mess with them. It can be cute at first but this situation lasted way longer than necessary, and at the end of the day the person is just messing with someone's livelihood: would you like it it someone was affecting your ability to work? So no, i wouldnt come down on a good samaritan who was refreshing expired meters, but maybe i would react differently if this person was following and harassing me for an over extended period of time.
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Assuming you live in Ontario you must contact the Ministry of Transportation, through Service Ontario. They are the ones who issue Accessible Parking Permits. If you indeed have a legitimate reason for obtaining a permit, and you have a doctors recomendation you should go to the MTO. Everything you need to know is on their web page:
http://www.ontario.ca/driving-and-roads/under-what-circumstances-will-accessible-parking-permit-be-issued
There is also an online form available to you as well.
If the permit was siezed for being misused, it's possible that you may not be able to get another permit. You would have to talk to representatives from Service Ontario for more clarification.
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Most of the time people jokingly offer to give me something to make their ticket go away, but there have been a few instances where people attempted to bribe me. The most common one would be to offer me money, sometimes more than what the ticket is worth. I have also been offered food and drinks (including a 6 pack of beer). When people start to haggle with me, I usually walk away to avoid this type of situation altogether.
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