A resident of Mont-Tremblant was shocked to receive a ticket for more than $450 for parking his car on the street overnight, since the City has just tripled the amount of the fine.
“$459 because you forgot your car in the street, that doesn’t make sense!” exclaims Jonathan Benjamin.
The resident of Mont-Tremblant, in the Laurentians, received a ticket in the mail last week. One early morning in February, he parked his car in front of his house “for 30 minutes”, according to his memories. The roadway was dry at the time and the vehicle was not towed.
However, parking is prohibited between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. throughout the City during the winter.
Mr. Benjamin was therefore given a $300 ticket, in addition to costs.
“It wouldn’t even cost me that if I had driven above the limit in a school zone,” says the man who had never received such fines since his arrival in 2016.
Significant increase
This same observation would have cost him $100 in addition to fees last year. But the municipal council of the City of Mont-Tremblant tripled the minimum amount of the fine during a municipal council meeting in January.
“Failure to comply with this ban [de stationnement de nuit] has a direct impact on the work of snow removal and maintenance of streets and sidewalks, and many citizens ignore this ban despite the amount of $100 to pay, hence the decision to increase the ‘fine of $300’, mentioned to the Newspaper the City Clerk’s Office.
However, fewer fines had been given in recent years, going from 189 in 2018 to 56 in 2023.
Since January, 54 tickets have been given to motorists who had parked in the street overnight.
Jonathan Benjamin is therefore concerned to know if other reports are currently on their way home, as they are not affixed directly to the windshield of the vehicle.
Cheaper elsewhere
In comparison, the minimum fine for a similar offense is $60 plus court costs in Montreal, Quebec and several other cities in the province.
However, other municipalities have decided to increase these amounts in recent months. This is particularly the case in Saint-Basile-le-Grand, in Montérégie, where you will now have to pay a minimum of $150 in addition to fees for an offense related to parking during a snow removal operation, unlike 50 $ in the past.