'Nearly 6,000 parking tickets issued in 2024' was one of the headlines in the May 14 issue of Yellowknifer.
ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot of tickets. When I looked it, up a parking ticket can cost $20 to $130, depending on when and where the person was parked. I tried to find out how much revenue the city makes from parking meters but gave up. I am sure the number is somewhere in the city files SA国际影视传媒� I just couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 find it easily, but obviously they make a lot of revenue from parking meter fines.
There is a certain irony to the whole parking situation. TaxpayersSA国际影视传媒� money is used to build the roads, put in the sidewalks and parking meters. Then if you want to park on the road you paid for, the city charges you and fines you if you overstay the time. It is typically a one- or two-hour meter. So, you have to keep track of the time on your meter and get back to it before it expires, or bylaw swoops in and fines you.
There is limited parking downtown, which is the way the city was developed, and they use this as an excuse to have parking meters. Now contrast this with the businesses out on Old Airport Road, where the stores and businesses provide free parking for their customers. The city also issued 130 speeding tickets, and those can cost $100 or more, depending on the circumstances.
A lot of politicians seem to believe that if you make a law about something, it somehow miraculously solves the problem. So they are big on making laws but not so good at enforcing them. Most cities have hundreds of bylaws that they completely ignore.
Yellowknife has a bylaw that bans keeping lions in the city and one about spitting on the sidewalk. At least I assume they do, but while traffic laws get enforced, what about litter, illegal dumping, vandalism, drunkenness in public, creating disturbances or harassment?
I wonder, when was the last time someone got fined for searching through vehicles at night, letting their dog poop on the sidewalk or littering? Seldom, if ever, is my guess. It is true that traffic violations are much easier to enforce, but completely ignoring the other issues is not helpful.
LetSA国际影视传媒檚 take litter and garbage as an example. Litter, litter everywhere because many people and businesses know they can get away with it. They think, why should they waste time and money trying to keep their area clean when no one else is? No one ever gets ticketed or fined for breaking the bylaws.
If one were serious about cutting down on the staggering among of litter in town, they would start by examining where it comes from. Look at the various blue metal bins around town and see which ones are major sources of litter while others are well managed. So, bins should not overflow with garbage and have lids that donSA国际影视传媒檛 close due to all the waste inside. So, one either needs bigger bins or needs to empty them more often.
Bylaw officers could do rounds to check out the bins and warn or fine the property owners who werenSA国际影视传媒檛 managing them properly. They could also install cameras at places where people litter a lot and dole out some fines.
Plus, there needs to be an awareness campaign to get people motivated to try and keep the city as clean as possible. Much the same is true for vandalism and people who wander around looking for things to steal. One sees social media pictures of people wandering around at night looking for vehicles they can get into and steal things from.
In conclusion, if we want to stop all the littering, dogs pooping on sidewalks and petty crimes, the city should start by taking these things more seriously and enforcing the laws we already have. It affects everyoneSA国际影视传媒檚 quality of life.
