A local motorist claims her vehicle was too far from the curb because city crews did not plough her street quickly enough and wanted the impound fee returned. Council said no. (Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

snow issues

No refund for P.A. motorist in snowy street dispute

Mar 3, 2020 | 12:14 PM

Despite taking her case all the way through the city council process, a local motorist will not get a refund on her $210 impound charge.

While some councillors suggested the city show some compassion, the majority did not want to set a precedent and maintained drivers are ultimately responsible for doing the right thing in the winter.

After an incident during a snowy and cold spell in January, the vehicle owner blamed the city for not clearing the road quickly enough on 22nd Street East. Her vehicle was parked too far from the curb, she claimed, because of the snow bank. It was then hit by another vehicle and towed away. It was on the road for more than 48 hours but she claimed it was so cold she couldn’t start it.

“I had many other constituents on 22^nd Street complain they also had nowhere to park,” Ward 7 Coun. Dennis Nowoselksy said during Monday’s executive committee meeting. “I think on compassionate grounds she should be reimbursed for the impound fee.”

Nowoselsky also called for 22^nd Street – which is in his ward – to become a Priority One snow clearing route in future so crews can get to it more quickly.

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Ward 2 Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp noted the motorist was at fault but hoped the city could access the Mayor’s Compassionate Fund to assist the young woman as she had made the effort to bring the matter through council and contest the charge.

“We don’t want to have a precedent where everyone in this similar situation comes back and gets reimbursed,” she said. “However, it takes a lot of effort to get up to this stage and come through the council process.”

But the majority of councillors made the point that the realities of winter roads are such that all motorists have a responsibility to ensure their vehicles do not block roadways and to have them boosted if they won’t start.

“If a vehicle is parked in the driving lane of a street for more than 48 hours, what option do we have other than to tow it … it has to be, ” he said. “And the question then is: Who pays [for that]?”

Mayor Greg Dionne decided not to access the Compassionate Fund, because in this instance it was a police matter, not a situation where a citizen with mobility issues for example comes forward for assistance after getting a bylaw ticket.

“That’s what’s unique about this, this is not a bylaw offence,“ he said. “This was a vehicle that was struck and in an accident, and deemed by the police to be a danger to the rest of the public, and they towed it.”

—

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow

by Glenn Hicks

No refund for P.A. motorist in snowy street dispute

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