The price of parking a car never ceases to annoy Canadian drivers

Few things annoy a driver more than having to dig around for change in order to be allowed to leave their vehicle, particularly when they were under the assumption parking was free.

A town councillor in Truro, N.S. has expressed annoyance over the fact that after its tourism committee encouraged people from across the province to attend its Canada Day festivities, a full lot forced some cars to the streets where they were dinged for $15 each.

The lack of signage to adequately explain where out-of-town visitors weren't supposed to park their cars was blamed for the confusion.

Nonetheless, parking has continued to be seen as a revenue generator for municipalities, with the presumption there's even more money to be made from ticketing those who don't pay attention to time and space restrictions.

Parking meters have become a contentious issue in Hamilton where residents balked at paying $1 per hour in spots that used to be free. The machines have only netted a small fraction of the anticipated revenue.

The vacancy rate has been affected, too, as the arrival of new meters coincided with a tripling in the number of closed businesses. Some machines have also been vandalized in apparent response.

For those living in cities where the occasional ticket is considered part of the price of driving, though, there's no sign the cost of parking will ever go down.

Rather, local governments invariably defend fees as an essential source of funding.

A backlash has been felt in Toronto after a management committee recently suggested tacking on a $12.75 administration fee for drivers who attempt to fight their parking tickets in court and lose.

Critics see the charge as a way to get people to cough up the $30 fine instead of going through the hassle of arguing why they shouldn't.

(CBC Photo)