“Old Carriage Court Kitchener”

While visiting our relatives that have lived at the same location for 30 years, received tickets on multiple family cars for parking on the wrong side of the Court. Have been parking for 24 years in this fashion and today had a By-Law Officer tells me that technically a Court is a 2-way street !?

I told him that in 24 years of visiting this relative I have never seen a car go against the right hand flow of traffic by turning left at the circle. The whole idea of parking in the same direction of the flow of traffic is not drive in the opposite direction.

The double stupid here is it would be impossible to draw lines on a Court as 2 way traffic without having both directions crossing each other. Also I have found no evidence that a Court is a 2 way street in any Ministry documents.

Fully intend to fight these, my question is which approach do you think I should take? By saying a Court is not a 2 way street, that's why they call it a Court? That a Court by nature is a one way and therefore you should be able to park on either side?

This is beyond stupid that I have to defend against this in the first place.

Thanks in advance.

Of course It's a two way street. Otherwise traffic could go down and not get out or visa versa.

Traffic must generally park with right wheels to the curb line.

You won't find any ministry documents to help you out either. It's a by-law and you should be able to locate it on the website for the local municipality. Check the ticket for the bylaw number and section.

Here's a sample of the Kitchener Parking Bylaw. Your ticket should have the exact bylaw number on it.

https://www.kitchener.ca/en/insidecityhall/resources/By_Law/By_Law_City_of_Kitchener_Traffic_and_Parking_By_Law.pdf wrote:Method of Parking or Stopping

2. Method of Parking or Stopping

a) General

Unless otherwise prohibited or permitted in this by-law, no person shall park or stop a vehicle on any roadway except on the right side of the roadway, having regard to the direction in which the vehicle has been proceeding with the right front and right rear wheels or runners not more than 0.15 meters from the curb line.

b) Parking On One Way Streets

Where parking is permitted on either side or both sides of a one way street, no person shall park a vehicle except in the direction it was permitted to proceed parallel to and not to exceed a distance of 0.15 metres from the curb line.

c) Angle Parking

Where angle parking is permitted, no person shall park a vehicle except at the angle with the roadway indicated by markings and/or signs, and so that the front end of the vehicle is nearest to the edge of the roadway.

d) Boulevard

Where boulevard parking is permitted, no person shall park a vehicle on the abutting roadway or any part thereof.

e) Parking Spaces

Where parking spaces are designated on a roadway, no person shall park a vehicle in such a manner as to infringe upon or take up more than one parking space unless the vehicle cannot be accommodated in one parking space.

Just spent 20 minutes on Google Maps looking at various Courts, I think I found one out of thirty where someone is parked in the opposite direction of the flow of traffic.

What other people were doing on Google maps won't have any effect on any current ticket. You just happen to have been caught on that particular day.

Decatur wrote:What other people were doing on Google maps won't have any effect on any current ticket. You just happen to have been caught on that particular day.

Probably true, but I think it's important that the City of Kitchener paint lines and put up two way traffic signs on every court in the City. Annoying that all three of our cars got $25 tickets, but I'm sure my $75 will pay for one sign post out of the hundreds required.

I'm also pretty sure it happened because a neighbor who has been feuding on the Court called Bylaw Enforcement.

RAC wrote:I think it's important that the City of Kitchener paint lines and put up two way traffic signs on every court in the City.

As Decatur said, if the roadway didn't allow for two way traffic, nobody would ever be able to leave the Court. Signage is required for one way roads, not vice versa.

And you're probably correct that the enforcement was complaint based and not self initiated by the bylaw officer, though that has no bearing on the matter in Court.