There’s only one time of the year where you pay off a parking ticket for less than it’s worth, and that time is fast approaching.
The Toys for Tickets campaign starts Nov. 15 and runs until Nov. 30. Any driver who receives a parking ticket during that time can pay it off with a toy, typically worth less than the total fine.
While the typical St. Albert parking ticket costs a violator $60 – reduced to $40 if it is paid in seven days – anyone who receives a ticket can instead provide a new toy, with receipt, that costs a minimum of $25.
“We don’t want people going to The Dollar Store. We want to be able to give a child some toy of some substantiality. And you’ve saved yourself $15,” said senior officer Garnet Melnyk of the city’s municipal enforcement services.
This is the fourth year for the program. Last year, of 171 parking tickets issued between Nov. 15 and Dec. 7, 88 were paid with toys, equaling 51 per cent. Most people paid with more than one toy, as those 88 tickets brought in 123 toys, worth a total value of $2,800.
“We made it $25 to act as an incentive to pay with a toy,” Melnyk said. “You save yourself $15 over the early payment option.”
The numbers for last year, however, were markedly lower than the 2010 campaign, when 72 per cent of tickets were paid in toys. The total value of the toys was also less than in 2010, $2,800 compared to $4,200 in 2011.
Melnyk couldn’t think of a reason why the numbers had dropped so sharply over the course of one year.
“It could be the economy, maybe less people decided they wanted to pay with a toy. Your guess is as good as mine,” Melnyk said. “I have no explanation as to why they wouldn’t take advantage of the program.”
Anyone who receives a parking ticket is also given a pamphlet explaining how the toys for tickets program works. Both municipal enforcement and the St. Albert RCMP hand out the pamphlets.
At the end of the program the toys are donated to the Fill-A-Bus campaign organized by St. Albert Transit and Diversified Transportation. All money, toys and goods donated at the Fill-A-Bus event, which runs Dec. 1, 2012, are donated to the Kinettes’ annual hamper campaign.
To qualify for the program, the ticket must be paid for with a toy during the early payment period of the ticket. The toy must be age appropriate for children who are newborns or aged up to 16 and it must be in its original packaging, with the receipt showing its value is $25 or greater.
All toys will be accepted Nov. 15 to Dec. 7 at the St. Albert RCMP detachment at 96 Bellerose Dr.
