$50 fine for parking in accessible spot 'not much of a deterrent'

Fines for parking illegally in accessible parking spaces need to be higher, says the PEI Council for People with Disabilities.

Charlottetown police say they have fined 59 people so far this year for parking in spots designated for people with disabilities.

Each was fined $50, but the council's executive director Marcia Carroll said "it's not much of a deterrent."

You'd get a fine like that once and you would never do it again one would hope, anyway. Marcia Carroll

She thinks the fine should be more like $500.

"You'd get a fine like that once and you would never do it again one would hope, anyway," she said. "As well, it shows that the city actually, and I'm not saying they don't value, but they value the spaces and value people with disabilities."

6,700 Islanders have permits

Carroll said the permits are not a privilege. The 6,700 Islanders who have accessible parking permits have to reapply every year with a doctor's signature on a medical certificate in order to get one. The permits are provided to those unable to walk more than 75 metres without serious difficulty or danger to their safety or health, the city said.

Carroll said the laws are harder to enforce on private property. Police tend to only fine people for parking illegally in designated spaces on city streets, she said, because in private parking lots, police have to be invited on to the property by the owner in order to charge people.

Thursday is Accessible Parking Awareness Day in Charlottetown.

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