Winnipeg exploring use of residents’ photos to issue parking tickets

The City of Winnipeg is looking into a system where individual residents could report parking violations by submitting photographs.

A city spokesperson told Global Winnipeg that city hall is still in the ‘very early stages of exploring’ whether the plan would be feasible.

“People can already submit photos, however, we are currently required to have an enforcement officer investigate,” the spokesperson said.

“This new approach would not replace existing enforcement methods, but would allow us to enforce clear violations when we don’t have available officers to investigate, and/or the reported vehicle is moved by the time we get there.”

Some Winnipeg residents are already documenting poor parking jobs on social media, with accounts like Obstructed Bike Lanes of Winnipeg on Instagram sharing pics of scofflaws and encouraging residents to report violations through the city’s website.

One Winnipegger who is no stranger to tickets is Len Eastoe, owner/operator of Winnipeg’s Traffic Ticket Experts.

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Eastoe, a former police officer who has been a traffic court agent since 1991, says he’s heard buzz about the idea, but would rather see ticketing handled by the experts — for a number of reasons.

“We already have people that are trained out there working for the parking authority to do this,” Eastoe said Wednesday.

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“If there’s some sort of confrontation when the person is taking the picture of the car … say, the owner of the car or whoever’s driving it arrives, do we want to create that sort of a possible confrontation with those people, just for a parking offence?

“Let the trained people who work for the parking authority do that job, I think it’s safer for everyone all around.”

Another factor that might come into play, Eastoe said, is that photographers reporting bad parkers may have more responsibility than just clicking ‘send’ — they may have to appear in court to confirm the details in the photo.

“If (the driver) disputes it, then it goes to court … and then that person, or whoever gives that evidence, has to be there.”

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Some cities in the U.S. have come up with creative solutions to bylaw enforcement. In Chicago, the Smart Street Pilot Program employs cameras — some of which are mounted on city vehicles and buses — to catch offenders.

New York City residents, by contrast, don’t have an option to report parking violations, but can submit video of vehicles idling, and pocket a percentage of the fine the driver has to pay.

In Winnipeg, for the time being, residents can report a parking infraction and submit a photo online, but the parking authority needs to send a staffer to check out the situation in person in order to issue a ticket.

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