“Left Turn Into Parking Lot "prohibited U-turn"?”

I received a ticket today from the Hamilton Police. I was northbound on Hwy 6 and turned left to proceed west on Hwy 5 (in Clappison's Corners). I was attempting to get into the Tim Horton's parking lot on the south side of Hwy 5, but there is a boulevard which ends just west of the entrance to the parking lot and a no u-turn sign is posted as well as a no left turn sign. I proceeded another 65 metres down the road past the sign (I measured it on Google Earth), and turned left into a parking lot on the south side of Hwy 5. I turned around in the parking lot (which also had a no u-turn sign posted just before it), went back to the road and turned right to proceed east on Hwy 5. When I pulled into the Tim Horton's parking lot, there was a Hamilton Police officer sitting there who waved me over.

She told me that I was not permitted to make a u-turn and there was signage saying so. I told her that I hadn't pulled a u-turn and she told me that what I did was still prohibited due to the no left turn sign (65 metres ahead of the lot I turned into). She told me "nobody sees the sign and everyone does it. It's like shooting fish in a barrel" . She then proceeded to give me a ticket for "make prohibited u-turn". She told me that she wrote it up as a By-Law violation instead of the more expensive OHTA violation so that there were no points associated with the ticket and the fine is less expensive.

A couple of questions, if you would be so kind as to give me your input:

1) Does what I did still constitute a "prohibited u-turn" if I left the highway, entered a parking lot, turned around in a parking lot then re-entered the highway?

2) If what I did is NOT a u-turn, then will the fact that the ticket says "prohibited u-turn" work in my favour (since I turned left and did not make a u-turn) if I should choose to fight this in court?

3) I know there are regulations as to where signs must be posted for prohibiting certain types of turns - 65 metres in advance seems a little far to me and I feel like it was more meant for people doing a partial u-turn to enter the Tim Horton's parking lot, not a turn further down the road - does anyone know what the regulation for sign location is for a no left turn sign?

Thanks in advance for any input or advice you can provide!

From your description I would say you did not make a u-turn.

Agree with Stanton. A left turn into a parking lot is not a U-turn. If you turn around in the parking lot and turn right on to the roadway, it's still not a U-turn. The U-turn has to occur on the highway (public road)... which, you didn't do, from the sounds of it. You made a left turn on the highway but that's it.