The Toronto Parking Authority is a public corporation owned by the City of Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

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TPA was established in 1998 with the merger of parking operations in the cities of Toronto, York, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York and the Borough of York. The bulk of the operations was from the old Parking Authority of Toronto, established in the old city of Toronto in 1952.

According to the Toronto Parking Authority website in 2005, it operates 160 municipal parking lots containing about 20,000 spaces. Twenty of these lots accounting for approximately 10,000 spaces are garages. The remaining 10,000 spaces are contained in approximately 140 surface lots. Parking lots that are operated by the Toronto Parking Authority are marked with green signs with their signature P in the middle, hence, "Green P" parking.

In late 2005 and throughout 2006, the TPA began the process of automating many of their surface carparks, notably Carparks 5, 12, 39, 49, and 58. Equipping these carparks allows the TPA to operate these lots on a 24-hour basis. They are operated by cashiers during the day during peak business hours and then are run by exit pay stations later on at night. The exit pay stations accept coins and credit cards only as a method of payment. Yet despite being in place for over a year and having numerous signs around the parking lot at the entrance and exits, customers are still dumbfounded by the fact that "they can't pay cash" at the exit stations. This has led to several problems including (but not limited to) broken gates, tailgating, bills inserted into the credit card slot at the exit, into the coin slot at the exit and even bills left in the change dispenser at the exit. By September 2006, Carpark 29 will become a fully automated parking garage where customers make payments at the designated pay stations rather than to the cashiers. Automating the car parks has reduced the need for part-time student staff.

2007 marked the end of Maurice Anderson's tenure as president of the Toronto Parking Authority. On April 30, 2007, Gwyn Thomas was appointed the new president. Thomas was the former vice-president.

Operations

The TPA splits its operations in two - On Street Parking and Off Street Parking. Off street parking are usually major lots built in commercials districts and strips where the amount of parking demanded exceeds the spaces available on the street. Major parking lots are usually attended by cashiers to collect payment. In parking lots where turnover generally isn't high and revenue is low to moderate, customers must purchase tickets from pay and display machines and place them in their dashboard. Enforcement of parking the TPA's lots are carried out by their own enforcement officers or "Taggers".

Enforcement

Customers who fail to pay or park longer for the amount of time that they purchase are issued a one time Courtesy Envelope. If they are found to be violating the parking, they are automatically issued $30 police tags.

List of major lots operated by the TPA

• Charles/Hayden Garage, Carpark #1, 430 Spaces
• Wellesley St. Lot, Carpark #5, 133 Spaces
• Rosehill Garage, Carpark #11, 545 Spaces
• Alvin Ave. Lot, Carpark #12, 166 Spaces
• St. Clair Garage, Carpark #13, 250 Spaces
• Yorkville/Cumberland Garage, Carpark #15, 1036 Spaces
• Queen/Victoria Garage, Carpark #26, 650 Spaces; rebuilt from original lot - first municipal parking garage in 1956
• Holly/Dunfield Garage, Carpark #29, 460 Spaces
• Air Canada Centre Lot, Carpark #32, 330 Spaces
• Dundas Square Garage, Carpark #34, 270 Spaces
• 40 Larch Street Garage, Carpark #150, 357 Spaces
• City Hall Parking Garage, Carpark #36, 2086 Spaces with total 2,400 (used by City of Toronto for municipal fleet) is one of the world's largest underground garage
• Castlefield Ave. Lot, Carpark #39, 133 Spaces
• St. Lawrence Garage, Carpark #43, 2008 Spaces
• Roehampton Ave. Lot, Carpark #49, 126 Spaces
• University Ave. Garage, Carpark #52, 323 Spaces
• Bloor/Bedford Garage, Carpark #58, 399 Spaces
• Kensington Market Garage, Carpark #68, 450 Spaces
• Larch St. Garage, 357 Spaces
• St. Clair/Yonge Garage, 173 Spaces
• Dragon City Garage, Carpark #163, 129 Spaces
• Yorkville Lot, Carpark #215, 175 Spaces
• Beecroft Garage, Carpark #404, 401 Spaces
• Beecroft Lot, Carpark #410, 173 Spaces

TTC Station Lots

TPA operates suburban lots at subway and RT stations in Toronto. All are outdoor lots next to or near the stations:

• Downsview Station Carpark 827, 641 Spaces
• Eglinton West Station, 158 Spaces
  • Carpark #806 - 56
  • Carpark #807 - 102
• Ellesmere Station Carpark #817 - 68 Spaces
• Finch Station, 2458 Spaces
  • Carpark #814 - 1683
  • Carpark #813 - 1531
  • Carpark #419 - 23
  • Carpark #412 - 62
• Dundas West Station Carpark #805 - 221 Space
• Islington Station, 1499 Spaces
  • Carpark #831 - 200
  • Carpark #802 - 543
  • Carpark #803 - 473
  • Carpark #804 - 283
• Keele Station Carpark #805 - 221 Spaces
• Kennedy Station, 1037 Spaces
  • Carpark #821 - 676
  • Carpark #919 - 112
  • Carpark #820 - 151
  • Carpark #826 - 199
• Kipling Station, 1488 Spaces
  • Carpark #800 - 564
  • Carpark #825 - 72
  • Carpark #801 - 852
• Lawrence East Station Carpark #818 - 90 Spaces
• McCowan Station , 475 Spaces
  • Carpark #710 - 214
  • Carpark #700 - 261
• Wilson Station, 2257 Spaces
  • Carpark #811 - 932
  • Carpark #810 - 645
  • Carpark #829 - 72
  • Carpark #809 - 608 2257
• Victoria Park Station Carpark #824 - 180 Spaces
• Warden Station Carpark #823, 151 Spaces
• York Mills Station Carpark #812, 260 Spaces
• Yorkdale Station Carpark #808 - 1144 Spaces