Calgary Parking Authority kicks off its 2016 Accessible Parking Awareness Campaign

CALGARY, AB--(Marketwired - November 17, 2016) - Today the Calgary Parking Authority (CPA) is kicking off its annual accessible parking awareness campaign which focuses on raising awareness about leaving designated accessible stalls for people who are permitted to use them.

"This is an important campaign for the CPA because it very much humanizes parking. These stalls make a big difference for people with disabilities," says General Manager Mike Derbyshire. "Our enforcement officers are committed to ensuring that accessible stalls are being properly used -- please think twice about parking in one if you do not have a placard."

The CPA partners with The City of Calgary's Advisory Committee on Accessibility for this campaign. Patrick Sweet, of the Advisory Committee on Accessibility encourages people to consider those who need accessible parking stalls, "without the provision of accessible stalls, persons with disabilities would have a more difficult time carrying out routine tasks, working and other activities. Accessible parking stalls provide extra space, additional ease of movement and are in close proximity to building entrances."

This year from January 1 to November 15, 2815 tickets have been issued for unauthorized parking in a designated stall. This is down from last year, which had a total of 3731 tickets issued, with 391 tickets issued in December alone.

The fine for parking illegally in an accessible stall or accessible loading zone is $300. If paid within 10 days the fine is reduced to $200 or is $250 if paid within 30 days. Citizens are encouraged to report illegally parked vehicles to CPA's Customer Solutions Center by calling 403-537-7100, option 2.

This is the CPA's 17^th annual Accessible Parking Awareness Campaign and it will run through the end of December.

About Us

The Calgary Parking Authority is a proud partner of The City of Calgary and is committed to managing publicly-owned on- and off-street parking facilities on The City's behalf. In addition, we manage the municipal parking enforcement program and provide parking advisory services.

Every dollar we collect that exceeds our operational costs is returned to The City of Calgary. In 2016 we returned more than $21 million to the municipal general revenue program which funds projects such as recreation centres and pathways and provides funding for community services and public safety programs. The CPA operates without using any municipal tax revenues.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/11/17/11G122538/Images/calgaryparkingauthority_graph-b720e0d96f52a030969938c83a300f18.jpg