“By Law 406”

Hey guys. I parked my van on the side of a street and it was towed. Where I parked the car, there were signs saying that it was legal to park there. I had my number plate displayed on my dashboard because my van had been vandalized in the days before it got towed. I went to the Ministry of Transportation to pay the ticket, but no ticket was issued. The officer that towed my van claimed that it was an infraction of Bylaw 406. I have searched the internet for Bylaw 406 but have not found the one they are talking about. Can anyone help me find the Bylaw?

What city were you in?

It was in Toronto.

Unfortunately, this is a difficult situation because it's an "owner's expense" tow. The only thing you could fight was the ticket, and it appears you've already paid for it.

§ 950-406. Parking and standing during major snow storm conditions.

In Toronto the Municipal Code Chapter 950 deals with traffic and parking. And subsection 406 appears to talk about snow storm and streetcar parking.

Where exactly did you park your vehicle?

I didn't pay for the ticket. I went to the Ministry of Transportation and there was no ticket issued so I could not pay it. I was parked on the right hand side of a street: Fairbank just a bit north of Eglinton Ave. W I have seen the bylaw about snow routes but it's the middle of the summer. And the officer stated the bylawa had something to do with number plate not being displayed properly. I cannot find bylaw 406 in regards to that.

I'm not sure where the officer got the number 406 from, possibly he had a brain cramp and was quoting the wrong bylaw number. Most likely your car was towed under bylaw 950-400 10a which says: "No person shall on any highway park any vehicle unless there are displayed on the vehicle, in the manner prescribed by law: number plates issued in accordance with the provisions of the Highway Traffic Act, showing the number of the permit issued by the Province of Ontario for the vehicle and there is affixed to a number plate displayed on the vehicle, in the prescribed manner, evidence of the current validation of the permit." Since having the number plate displayed in the window doesn't technically meet the requirements of the Highway Traffic Act for having the plates properly displayed, the officer could tow the vehicle under this section. http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/bylaws/2011/law1409.pdf

Also MTO doesn't collect the fines for parking tickets unless they have gone into default and the city has filed a request to have your licence plate renewal denied. If this just happened recently then MTO wouldn't necessary have a record of any ticket that was issued, so you may wish to double check with the city to make sure there isn't a ticket issued against you. You can do that by calling parking tag operations at 416-397-TAGS(8247).