In Ottawa, there were over 240,000 parking tickets in 2018. There are clusters around high traffic areas all over the city, but there is an anomaly—there are almost no records in the past three years on Carleton University grounds.
But, this doesn’t mean Carleton is a safe haven for parkers looking to dodge fees. Jurisdiction over parking falls to on-campus security services.
“The Carleton University Act allows the university to pass its own bylaws. So essentially, it’s like a small city,” said Chris Moy, assistant director of Carleton’s Parking & Technical Services.
That means the collection of all parking fees is done by the school, with no involvement from the city. Students who have unpaid fees can have their graduation or admission into the next semester blocked. Staff who have an unpaid parking ticket can have the fees taken out of their wages.
Last academic year—September to August—there were over 11,000 parking tickets issued on campus. This is usually around the yearly average, according to Moy.
As of March 3, there have been 8,569 tickets issued by campus safety patrollers.
Parking lot one, behind the Loeb Building, lot three next to the Ice House, and lot 5 behind Athletics are common sites for offenders, but these fluctuate throughout the year.
“People that park in permit parking spots are displacing somebody who’s paid, so it causes lots of problems,” said Moy.
There are only 4,500 parking spaces available on campus—and as real estate in the Carleton area becomes increasingly limited, the number of spots may decrease further.
“As with any city, the real estate where the buildings need to go becomes a lot more valuable than a parking lot would, so parking gets displaced.” – Chris Moy, assistant director of Carleton’s Parking & Technical Services.
With a lack of parking, many students have taken to parking in the local areas surrounding campus. Brewer Park, the city property across the road from the Ice House, is a hotspot, according to Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard.
“Obviously that affects neighbours and affects people’s safety in that area and you want to minimize car traffic,” Menard said. “For us, it’s important that Carleton administration takes this to heart.”
Menard said he is working with Carleton administration to advocate for increased transit options on campus. He is a big proponent of bicycle lanes on campus and a separate lane for busses on campus.
The Trillium O-Train Line will be closed in 2020, which will force increased traffic onto the roads. Extra busses will be on campus to fill the gap in available transit when the train stops, which will only increase delays.
These delays, Menard said, are practically guaranteed if you’re driving on campus.
The new one-way road, introduced on University Avenue in September, has added to these delays to people’s transit commutes. With parking space cutbacks and the traffic, Moy said the number of cars on campus now is “not sustainable.”
To combat these problems, Carleton is moving forward with constructing new through roads to Bronson, and negotiating with the National Capital Commission to get a through road built to connect to Colonel By Drive. Carleton has also moved forward with other initiatives, such as introducing parking spots for carpooling permit holders.
Added with the introduction of bike lanes and a bus-only lane, both campus and the city are hoping these measures will dissuade drivers, and solve traffic and parking problems.
“I would encourage all students not to drive if possible,” he said.
Featured image from file.
