Parking ban curbs nightlife

Marielle Picher
mpicher@dal.ca

The Halifax winter parking ban may keep streets clear, but it also creates a dilemma for designated drivers.

To facilitate snow removal, people are prohibited from parking their cars on city streets between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. from Dec. 15 to March 30.

Cars in violation of the ban can be towed or issued a $25 ticket.

This year’s winter ban has been controversial because it applies even if it does not snow.

“Most of the criticism of the winter parking ban has arisen over tickets that are issued when there is no snow on the street,” says Leonard Preyra, the member of legislative assembly for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island.

On Friday and Saturday nights, few bars downtown close before 2 a.m. The Palace, The Dome and Reflections Cabaret stay open until 3:30 a.m.

Since the ban kicks in two and a half hours earlier, designated drivers and anyone accessing downtown nightlife by car must either risk having their cars towed or ticketed, or cut their night short.

Parking enforcement officer Stan Forgeron has worked during the hours of the ban this season. He said that the number of tickets issued was high during the first few days of the ban, as well as the weekend of Jan. 10 and 11 – the first weekend students returned to Halifax after the holidays.

The city issued more than 4,000 tickets during winter ban hours between Dec. 15 and Jan. 6. Deborah Story, Halifax Regional Municipality’s acting corporate communication manager, said parking enforcement officers issued nearly 500 tickets last weekend alone.

Dalhousie student Meghan Tower, 21, is a frequent designated driver. She said she understands the need for the ban but points out that, if drivers leave downtown early, bars and restaurants will feel the financial impact.

“I don’t want to have to worry about getting a ticket,” said Tower, “so it definitely affects how often I would go downtown.”

The same problem arose 10 years ago. In 1999, the Downtown Halifax Business Commission implemented a program called “Someone for the Road” to encourage designated driving. More than 20 bars and restaurants were involved in the campaign.

To address the discrepancy between bar and restaurant hours of operation and the terms of the winter parking ban, the commission worked with the Halifax Regional Police to postpone the ban until closing time on evenings without major snowfalls.

The Downtown Halifax Business Commission’s executive director, Paul MacKinnon, said the organization hasn’t seen the need to revive the campaign because the number of drinking and driving related accidents are down, and the program is a challenge to run. He also said the grace period between the start of the ban and closing time at bars and restaurants has continued since the campaign, as a sort of “gentlemen’s agreement” between the city and the owners.

Const. Jeff Carr with the Halifax Regional Police confirms that the unofficial policy has in fact continued. “The ban just prevents downtown from turning into an overnight parking lot,” said Carr.

But unwritten rules may not be sufficient. Gordon Stewart, executive director of the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, favours the more formalized arrangement the city had in 1999.

Compatibility between parking regulation and downtown nightlife is important, says Stewart.