Downtown Moncton pays for parking warnings in private lots

Downtown Moncton plans to spend up to $5,000 to erect signs inprivate parking lots in the downtown to warn drivers their vehicle may be booted or towed.

For years, people have complained the current "No Parking" signage on some private lots isn't visible enough. So the business group is taking it upon itself to design larger, brighter, simpler signs.

Coun. Dawn Arnold says they can't make booting illegal, so better signage is worth a try.

"I think this is a step in the right direction," she said. "Ultimately it'd be nice if we didn't have to have any booting.

"I don't think anyone wants to boot or tow anybody. But at the same time property owners have to be able to protect their land and the public needs to be clearly informed on where they can and cannot park."

The executive director of Downtown Moncton, Anne Poirier Basque, says the group will make it as easy as possible for businesses to participate in the signage program, but they can't force them to use the new signs.

"People are just not aware of what's private and what's public," said Poirier Basque. "But with this signage that's going up now, hopefully that's going to be clarified. After that, there's going to be no excuse."

In the downtown area, there are 14 private parking lots that use a "boot" to immobilize unauthorized vehicles. The owners are then charged a fee to remove the device. There are also eight parking lots that tow unauthorized vehicles.

Downtown Moncton intends to produce new signs for all 22 of those private parking lots and offer to install them, free of charge to the businesses. Each sign costs about $200.

The new signs are to be in place by May 1 or sooner, depending on when the ground thaws enough to allow the signs to be erected.