Here's how many parking tickets were issued in Ottawa in 2022

A parking ticket is seen on the windshield of a car in Ottawa, Ont. (CTV News Ottawa)

The number of parking tickets issued by Ottawa bylaw officers approached pre-pandemic levels last year, as COVID-19 restrictions relaxed and people started driving more.

New statistics show Bylaw Services officers issued 340,625 parking tickets in 2022 for a variety of infractions, compared to 362,753 parking tickets in 2019.

The Bylaw and Regulatory Services annual reports show officers issued 262,089 parking tickets in 2021 and 249,721 parking tickets in 2020. In 2020, the city suspended enforcement of parking in excess of time limits for approximately four months to encourage more people to work from home and limit the spread of COVID-19.

The top parking infraction in Ottawa in 2022 was "unauthorized parking on private property." The Bylaw and Regulatory Services 2021 and 2022 annual reports show 66,577 tickets were issued for illegal parking on private property in 2022.

Here are the most frequent infractions observed in 2022, according to Ottawa Bylaw and Regulatory Services:

• Unauthorized Parking on Private Property: 66,577 tickets 
• Stop In No Stopping Area: 26,593 tickets 
• Parking In Excess of Posted Time Limits: 33,056 tickets 
• Park in No Parking Area: 31,186 tickets 
• Park in Excess of 3 hours between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.: 21,820 tickets 

A total of 14,013 parking tickets were issued during five winter weather parking bans in 2022.  Bylaw Services also issued 3,812 parking tickets in the so-called 'Red Zone' during the "Freedom Convoy' occupation in downtown Ottawa in January and February 2022.

In 2019, Bylaw Services officers issued 83,794 parking tickets for unauthorized parking on private property and 42,572 tickets for parking in excess of posted time limits.

Ottawa Bylaw Services officers responded to 93,010 service requests in 2022. Parking enforcement was the top request, at 38 per cent of all calls, followed by property standards (17 per cent), animal care and control (15 per cent) and noise (13 per cent).