Toronto Parking Authority

Toronto Parking Authority
Public company - city corporation
Industry Parking
Predecessor Parking Authority of Toronto (1952)
Founded 1998
Founder Council of the City of Toronto - By-law 18680
Headquarters Toronto
Products Parking lots
Website Toronto Parking Authority

The Toronto Parking Authority or Green P is a public corporation owned by the City of Toronto.

TPA was established in 1998 with the merger of parking operations in the cities of Toronto, York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York and the Borough of York. The bulk of the operations was from the old Parking Authority of Toronto, established in the old city of Toronto in 1952.

According to the City of Toronto website in 2016, the TPA operates 186 municipal parking lots containing about 34,000 spaces. 22 of these lots accounting for approximately 10,500 spaces are garages. The remaining 23,500 spaces are contained in approximately 163 surface lots. Parking lots that are operated by the Toronto Parking Authority are marked with green signs with their signature P in the middle, hence, "Green P" parking.

In late 2005 and throughout 2006, the TPA began the process of automating many of their surface carparks, notably Carparks 5, 12, 39, 49, and 58. Equipping these carparks allows the TPA to operate these lots on a 24-hour basis. They are operated by cashiers during the day during peak business hours and then are run by exit pay stations later on at night. The exit pay stations accept coins and credit cards only as a method of payment. Yet despite being in place for over a year and having numerous signs around the parking lot at the entrance and exits, customers are still dumbfounded by the fact that "they can't pay cash" at the exit stations. This has led to several problems including (but not limited to) broken gates, tailgating, bills inserted into the credit card slot at the exit, into the coin slot at the exit and even bills left in the change dispenser at the exit. By September 2006, Carpark 29 will become a fully automated parking garage where customers make payments at the designated pay stations rather than to the cashiers. Automating the car parks has reduced the need for part-time student staff.

2007 marked the end of Maurice Anderson's tenure as president of the Toronto Parking Authority. On April 30, 2007, Gwyn Thomas was appointed the new president. Thomas was the former vice-president.

Operations

A Toronto Parking Authority vehicle

The TPA splits its operations in two - On Street Parking and Off Street Parking. Off street parking are usually major lots built in commercials districts and strips where the amount of parking demanded exceeds the spaces available on the street. Major parking lots are usually attended by cashiers to collect payment. In parking lots where turnover generally isn't high and revenue is low to moderate, customers must purchase tickets from pay and display machines and place them in their dashboard. Enforcement of parking the TPA's lots are carried out by their own enforcement officers or "Taggers".

Enforcement

Customers who fail to pay or park longer for the amount of time that they purchase are issued a one time Courtesy Envelope. If they are found to be violating the parking, they are automatically issued $30 police tags.

Parking enforcement officers are members of the Toronto Police Service.

List of major lots operated by the TPA

TTC Station Lots

TPA operates suburban lots at subway and RT stations in Toronto. All are outdoor lots next to or near the stations:

See also

References

    External links

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