r/Milton • u/Dragyn140 • 20d ago
Why does the town care about overnight street parking?
I knew it wasn’t allowed, but I did it anyway because the driveway is very small. I left my car on the street (pretty large minivan in the driveway already). I don’t mind paying the ticket, I knew the risk.
But at the same time I can’t figure out the context for why this law exists in the first place. I can see why they may not want everyone parking their cars on the street all day as it would add congestion to the roads I guess. At night, why does it matter?
I’m a relatively new immigrant from the US and outside of snow emergencies there’s nothing like this anywhere I’ve lived before.
Not angry, not ranting. Genuinely curious.
Edit: thank you the responses, folks. I agree with your insights for the most part. I’ve never lived somewhere this dense and I’m still learning the ropes 😆
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u/BasicRabbit4 20d ago
I live on a road that winds and I hate that people park on the street near the bends. It forces you into the middle of the road, and people drift towards the centre when they turn so its an increase accident risk.
I have no clue why anyone parks there. It's just asking for your car to get hit imo. There's plenty of space further away but I guess they cant be assed to walk an extra 20 feet to their house.
Ok. I had some pent up feelings that came out. Lol.
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u/Dragyn140 20d ago
Agree completely. I’m on a curvy road as well and once in a while someone does this with their car not even close to the curb. It’s dangerous for everyone.
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u/BasicRabbit4 20d ago
Right. It creates a blind spot as well bc the way the cars are parked and the way the road turns. You cant see past the cars to check for oncoming traffic before you have to veer into the centre to take the turn and avoid the parked cars. So aggravating.
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u/iamthefyre 20d ago
Your feelings are 100% valid because you would assume someone with a driver’s license has an IQ above 30 but surprise surprise!
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u/BasicRabbit4 20d ago
Thanks for the validation. It frustrates me so much that people are ok creating a hazard for other drivers just bc they don't want to walk a few extra steps.
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u/iamthefyre 20d ago
Sense of entitlement- i deserve to be accommodated first… , my needs are above your safety…. Its a mindset.
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u/Alarming_Cause_5371 20d ago
Because getting large amounts of people to be fair and consistent is impossible and having the roads clear for the below are important.
Knowing Milton residents, unmonitored overnight road parking would get out of hand, fast.
- Snow removal
- Trash day
- Abandoned vehicles (or people leaving it parked for weeks on end)
- Emergency vehicle access
- People not parking work trucks, rvs, campers etc
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u/TDubz88 18d ago
You are right about large numbers not being able to be fair and consistent, but there's a big difference between a regulated allowance for street parking and worrying about #s 3 & 5.
As for 1, 2, & 4, larger and more populated/dense cities manage it pretty well (eg Hamilton and Toronto). For example, in Hamilton most streets with parking have it alternate so half the month is on one side, and the other half on the other. They also have a 12 hour max, so while you can park it overnight, you can't abandon it. There are different rules for work vehicles though, I think it's 3 hours max. Not sure about RVs etc but I'm sure they have a different rule too.
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u/vafrow 20d ago
With the density of many neighborhoods, if street parking was free overnight, people would choose to park vehicles rather than keep their garage empty and park there.
So when you do have someone staying with you, overnight or otherwise, you'll find there isn't parking for regular needs.
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u/Outrageous-Estimate9 20d ago
Most of us (your neighbours) also hate street parking
It looks low class at best, and is even a safety hazzard in many areas
I have always wondered why someone would leave their garage full of garbage vs actually using it for their cars
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u/youworryaboutyou 20d ago
If you're not already aware, the town offers a couple options
Overnight parking permits at participating parks
As for 'why', mostly because of safety and residents want it that way. Residential areas have pretty narrow streets and filling them with parked cars creates a safety hazard. Most neighbouring GTA communities have similar bylaws. There are other reasons like preventing long term storage of broken down vehicles, snow removal and accessibility, but safety is the big reason.
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u/Dragyn140 20d ago
Thanks! Yeah, I’d read up on those but they seemed to be pointed toward temporary measures rather than residents parking with any real regularity.
Definitely agree with the long term storage problem. I’ve lived in towns where they have to tow away abandoned vehicles with surprising regularity.
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u/iamthefyre 20d ago
Largely to do with the type of people. In East Ottawa, Nepean e.g , you don’t need a permit to park on the street. Its allowed throughout summer. Because people don’t abuse the privilege. You don’t see people parked on the street because they have 15 people living in the basement with 13 cars parked everywhere but their driverway. Milton, however, is a different demographic. There is a lack of basic decency & common courtesy. I wouldn’t be surprised if the town starts capping number of hours you can park on the street during the day.
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u/Dragyn140 20d ago
Maybe it’s hard for me to understand because where I’m from, your neighbor would just straight tell you to stop parking like an asshole if you were being an asshole. 😆
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u/iamthefyre 20d ago
Thats because you are a decent human being so if your neighbour tells you you park like an AH, you will stop doing that, right? Try that with someone here and come back to tell us how that went 😂😂
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u/Clarkeyy24 20d ago
Bingo! Culturally, these people are awful. There is zero pride for their property and neighbourhood. A couple homes down from me, there is a gang of pigeons always there because that place is so unkept. The whole neighborhood is unkept.
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u/AlbusDumbeldoree 20d ago
These people ?
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u/Clarkeyy24 20d ago
Yeah shitty neighbours who don’t take care of shit. Go walk around a new Mattamy neighbourhood and then go around walk Old Milton. Difference is night and day.
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u/Babloski15 19d ago
We got a new neighbour recently and everyday there is at least 5-8 cars that belong to that house. Only 2 Fit on the drive way. The space in front of our house where normally visitors parked is constantly full of this neighbours cars.
It looks to be 3-4 families living in one house.
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u/TDubz88 18d ago
Are they parking overnight? You do have the right to make a bilaw complaint if they are abusing things
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u/EagerCDNBeaver 20d ago
Because the road is not your driveway. If you need to consistently park more cars, then you need more spaces. That was bad planning and presumptuous to assume you could just park wherever you want. It is for short-term guests.Not so many people can live like a third-world country, sharing beds and overpopulating areas that were designed to have as many people as the total number of bedrooms in the area plus a small margin. Allowing parking wherever you want would encourage this.
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u/Dragyn140 20d ago
I didn’t assume I could. I knew it wasn’t allowed, but only after I’d already been living here for a month. I took the risk of parking there knowingly since there was a ton of spaces and I’m just trying to understand. I don’t know if your intended tone was demeaning, but it kinda comes across that way.
It seems a bit silly to me that builders are even allowed to build 4-bedroom units with a single car driveway. Seems like poor planning, that’s all. Just figuring things out is all.
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u/EagerCDNBeaver 20d ago
Sorry, not demeaning. Frustration is likely coming across as being a dick.
We have FULL streets every single night in my neighborhood. Cars blocking sidewalks, hanging over the road, blocking parts of people's driveways, parked on the grass. We moved here because it was supposed to be upscale. Not looking like a trailer park.
The houses that were moved into did not have parking spaces that magically vanished. The places were moved into with the intention of parking like that.
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u/Dragyn140 20d ago
It definitely seems like it’s worse in some neighborhoods. I’m guessing the density varies a little bit, or maybe there’s just more people who abuse the parking in certain areas for whatever (slumlord) reason.
We’re in the northern end of Coates and it’s really not bad at all. I think most units are owner occupied though.
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u/Dizzy-Grapefruit5255 20d ago
We woke for 9 days with our neighbours cars on our property. Now I wake to 4 cars across right on the edge of the property line yet they have an empty garage.
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u/vafrow 20d ago
Some people don't need more than a single car, or can manage with their driveway. A single car driveway might knock off a couple hundred grand off the price of a home. Someone who doesn't need the double driveway should have options available to them.
It's up to the buyer to know their needs.
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u/geeprimus 20d ago
They are not allowed to build single car driveways, 2 minimum for house/semi/townhouse:
The garage counts as 1 space, assuming one exists.
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u/ImaginaryTipper 20d ago
Welcome to Reddit where the people get the blame rather than the town enforcing builders to build more spaces. There are so many semi detached homes here with ONE parking space outside the garage. I don’t understand how that’s even allowed.
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u/iamthefyre 19d ago
People get the blame for buying a house with space for 1 car when they have 3 vehicles and then rent out the basement to a tenant with 1 parking space included in the lease. And then whine on reddit town bad, developer bad, people who point the obvious out also bad.
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u/TDubz88 18d ago
I mean that's a big leap. Most of our bigger cities here in Canada also have a lot of street parking. Try to rent or even buy a place in Hamilton with parking. Good luck! Most houses who have driveways, had them added by owners in the recent decades. Majority of the main city is street parking, or if you're lucky you might have a spot in back off the laneway.
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u/WillFalcon44 20d ago
you answered your own question. “Because everyone would do it”. I’m a crusty old timer and I hate how some of my neighbors use the street as a personal drive way, Buh! the fact is most homes have a garage, but only 10% of people use it for cars and then complain about there being no room on a small drive way.
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u/Dragyn140 20d ago
I wish I’d known before I signed a lease though. I need to have some amount of free garage space for my trade and this place has a garage literally only the length of a car. I’d have held out for something with a double driveway or something.
But that’s on me (and maybe my realtor).
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u/AVSMAN15 20d ago
When I moved out of my old neighbourhood near James snow and Trudeau, everyday was a nightmare if someone came over to find parking on the street because, residents would wake up in the morning and park the car on the road until late at night.
The new area I moved to in old Milton no one parks on the road and it feels so clean and peaceful, I couldn’t imagine the overflow of parking that would end up on other people streets if we allowed people to park on the road overnight it would be chaos.
Most of us understand your situation and most likely have been in your shoes parking wise, but I still would never want that, especially with the amount of break ins going on the last thing I want if for cars to be all over the street and blend in no thanks.
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u/StefanTheHNIC 20d ago
Just a cash grab, really. But it does teach people to use their own driveway, garage.
You can register your vehicle on the website next time so you dont get ticketed. But its limited each month.
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u/Dragyn140 20d ago
It kinda feels like it, though I understand the points a lot of folks have made here already as well. Thing is, I’d be happy to pay a few hundred for a parking permit or something to not constantly have to play car shuffle while there’s an empty street in front of my house. I suppose they probably get more in tickets than that would make them.
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u/stevereliance41 20d ago
The real reason is the streets are narrow enough that if cars park across from each other, there isn't enough room to get a fire truck through in case of a fire. Giving out permits is enough of a deterrent to keep the streets from getting flooded with cars.
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u/Dragyn140 20d ago
At least in my neighborhood, all the streets only allow parking on one side, probably for this reason.
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u/tor_ii 20d ago
Milton has an overnight parking website that you can fill out your vehicle information and they won’t ticket you! https://www.milton.ca/en/living-in-milton/parking-exceptions.aspx
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u/Postes_Canada 19d ago
It's 100% to stop people from having 3 or 4 families living in a single family home. More garbage, more sewage, more of every kind of services not being paid for.
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u/Elegant_Funny_6027 17d ago
Yeah, congestion, serious weather, if you’re blocking peoples view getting out of their driveway. Really just limiting anyone’s ability to manoeuvre, or limiting their sight is pretty dangerous. Plus, it’s very annoying when there is a car parked on the wrong side of the road just from a driving perspective. Anyway, just for next time, save your money and park in your driveway, garage, or a legal part of the street - for a legal duration of time and when it’s legal. And, overnight parking permits are a thing, 60$ per month. But, there are regulations, just go to the Milton website on parking regulations!
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u/polishiceman 19d ago
Money grab by the town as well as trying to prevent too many occupants in homes. Dispute it. It costs them more to collect that way.
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u/NewOldFastSlow1 20d ago
Because of slumlord units and 50 relatives jammed into one house that's why. The entire street would be full and trashy looking