City to drive unplated cars off streets

TORONTO - The licensing and standards committee wants the city to be able to crack down on unplated cars parked on city streets.

Councillor Frances Nunziata asked city staff to crack down on illegally parked cars without licence plates.

“We can’t tow because they don’t have licence plates? I mean we’ve got to change that, that is the dumbest thing,” Nunziata said. “I understand you can’t ticket because there is no licence plate but tow it. That’s common sense.”

Staff told the committee that right now cars without plates can’t be ticketed and therefore can’t be towed.

“Forget the ticket, just tow the damn car,” Nunziata said.

She called the loophole de facto free parking.

“Why would people want to come and get a parking permit from the city when all they have to do is take their plates off?” she asked.

The committee asked staff to work with Toronto Police to look at the feasibility of enabling parking officers to automatically tow unplated vehicles illegally parked or stored on city streets.

At the same licensing committee meeting, councillors voted to put off any changes to Toronto’s tow truck rates until March 2012.