Ottawa Bylaw issues 2,164 parking tickets since Jan. 28, only 115 tickets in the protest zone

Trucks blocking dozens of streets in downtown Ottawa have yet to be penalized and it’s causing frustration for residents, who feel the city should be providing the same leniency when it comes to parking.

Anyone in Ottawa knows a vehicle cannot stop, or park along Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill, but it does not seem to apply for the convoy of trucks blocking roads and blasting air horns day and night.

So far, a 'Red Zone' has been established in Ottawa's downtown core, with only a few parking infractions that have been handed out.

"It’s already difficult this time of year with the snowfall and the snow banks but certainly the extra traffic doesn’t help," says Tina Barton, who owns Hungry Babe, vegan prepared food, which she delivers herself to shops around the city, including some downtown. "Issuing parking tickets to people trying to go about their business. yeah I would find that really frustrating. If I got a parking ticket right now, I would try to dispute it."

On social media, others are posting their annoyance towards the seemingly unfair approach the city of Ottawa is taking, especially as many streets are now 'No Parking' and some parkades, with hundreds of spots, are closed. While truckers are exempt, others in the area are not. Bylaw can penalize a vehicle, or the same offence, every twelve hours. On day seven of this demonstration, some big rigs could have received nearly $2,000 in fines.

Ottawa Bylaw says their role in this ongoing demonstration is to support the lead enforcement agency, the Ottawa Police and the goal within the protest perimeter is to ensure emergency vehicles can pass and the flow of traffic is maintained.

"Tickets have been issued accordingly, with the exception of roads not within the jurisdiction of the City of Ottawa, such as the Queen Elizabeth Driveway. All service requests related to the demonstration are being redirected to OPS. BLRS continues to work with OPS to manage parking operations within the protest perimeter," said Roger Chapman, Ottawa Bylaw and Regulatory Services Director.

While the city says they understand the situation is frustrating for residents and those who work downtown, it’s business as usual outside of the red zone and that there is no way to differentiate between demonstrator vehicles and those that are not.

Since Jan. 28, Ottawa Bylaw has issued a total of 2,164 tickets for parking related infractions city-wide and 115 for vehicles parked in 'No Stopping' and 'No Parking areas within the protest perimeter, along with an additional 626 parking infractions for vehicles parked illegally in the Centertown area.