Newmarket’s bylaw enforcers continue to respond to an uptick in complaints about parking infractions around town and have been busy issuing tickets and warnings to residents, according to the bylaw report for July 20 to 26.
This is in addition to patrolling Main Street to ensure drivers follow the temporary 30-minute curbside parking limit put in place in May 2020 to help businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three tickets were handed out last week to drivers for bucking the Main Street parking rules, down from five tickets the previous week.
The three-hour parking restriction remains in effect, a bylaw spokesperson said. If residents have more people and vehicles at home due to the pandemic, they can apply for a free parking exemption permit here.
Now that Newmarket is a week into the province’s third and final stage of reopening and all of the town’s nearly 50 municipal playgrounds will welcome residents back on Aug. 1, a special team of park ambassadors will be deployed over the civic holiday weekend to help educate people on the safe use of playgrounds.
As business gradually returns to near-normal during the pandemic, proactive park patrols are decreasing. Bylaw officers conducted 58 park patrols during the week of July 20 to 26, down significantly from 99 the previous week, and 65 the week before that.
There were no concerns noted during the week’s 734 interactions with residents, and no tickets were issued for infractions under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act that start at $750 for violating public health measures such as physical distancing.
But warnings through public education and voluntary compliance increased to 32, up from 12 the previous week, and 14 the week before that.
Formal pandemic-related complaints by residents continue on a downward trend, with three grievances about businesses logged last week and five concerns about physical distancing.
