Ashton seeking permit parking in southwest corner of his ward

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Scarborough could soon declare its independence from Toronto's permit parking system - except for its southwest corner.

Local councillors don't like the idea of residents buying city stickers to park on their streets overnight and they have shot down all previous requests to put such permits in place.

Meanwhile, North York's councillors have declared their own former city an "exclusion zone," so that Toronto's street-by-street approach to permit parking can't apply to them, even if a street votes in favour of it.

This week, Ward 36 (Scarborough Southwest) Councillor Brian Ashton suggested his colleagues follow North York's lead, but at the same time let part of his ward come under the Toronto policy.

He asked city staff to come to the Scarborough Community Council meeting in February with a plan for allowing permit parking in an area between Victoria Park Avenue and Birchmount Road and from the CN Rail line south to Lake Ontario.

"It puts a tool in the tool kit for me to deal with some parking problems," Ashton added later. "I've got to clear this up one way or another."

In an interview Tuesday, Alan Burke, president of the East Beach Community Association, said he supports Ashton's proposal because residents should have the option of choosing a permit system.

Many homes in the area Ashton singled out have substandard driveways difficult to back vehicles down or they have two cars and must leave one on the street, he said.

A few people from the Toronto side, who don't want to pay for permits, have been parking on nearby Scarborough streets, Burke added.

Ward 44 (Scarborough East) Councillor Ron Moeser suggested Ashton's approach could weaken what until now in Scarborough had been a consistent stand against overnight street parking.

"In the practical sense I understand it, but what does it open the door to?" Moeser asked.

"We get the calls all the time. Somebody gets a couple of tickets and says, 'Give us permit parking.'"

Parking in most of Scarborough comes under a default three-hour bylaw, though it's typically enforced only when complaints are made.

Ward 42 (Scarborough-Rouge River) Councillor Raymond Cho called for flexibility on parking, saying he knows a family with two adult children living at home and a father who works. The family has three cars for their semi-detached home and must leave at least one on the street, he said.

"They've been getting parking tickets every night."

Later, Scarborough Community Council chairperson and Ward 40 (Scarborough-Agincourt) Councillor Norm Kelly said if Cho or other councillors identify other zones where permit parking is justified, council could look at them too.

A street-by-street approach to permits, however, would become "just a hodgepodge," he said.

Kelly said some colleagues believe permit parking would facilitate the growth of illegal rooming houses in their wards. "I can appreciate that argument and I can support it," he said.