Toronto residential street parking permit availability

December 9, 2007 3:59 PM

How easy is it to get residential street parking permits in Toronto? What are the chances of being put on a waiting list?

I'm very close to renting a particular apartment in the Dovercourt Village area of Toronto, near Dupont and Ossington. The one thing that I'm worried about is whether or not I'll be able to get a street parking permit for my car. It appears that I can't find out without applying, and can't apply without proof of residence, but having no parking makes the apartment unsuitable.

The apartment has no parking available, so I'd be a priority #1 applicant.

Should I be concerned about being denied a residential street parking permit?

posted by mendel to travel & transportation (7 comments total)

When we lived in Seaton Village (between Dovercourt/Christie Pits and the Annex), we just produced proof of residence and our car registration and we got one- but we also had off-street parking. So, presumably you do have to LIVE somewhere before getting the permit.There was no waiting list, but mind you we moved away in 2000.

In Calgary it's the same, we live on a permit-only street and got a sticker and two hang tags.

I had no idea it was not just given to residents- I thought the challenge was finding a place to park. The fact that we have a permit (here in Cgy I mean) doesn't mean we don't have to park on the next block sometimes.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 4:09 PM on December 9, 2007

I think there are very few neighbourhoods with waiting lists.

Here's a way to check. Go to http://www.toronto.ca/transportation/ and click on the link to buy a temporary (i.e. one-week) permit. You don't need to be a resident to do this. If it says a temporary permit is available, then you know there's no waiting list

If a temporary permit isn't available, though, it doesn't necessarily mean that there will be a waiting list, because there is a bit of prioritization that goes on. e.g. The first/only car of people who have no parking on their property has the highest priority, etc.
posted by winston at 5:18 PM on December 9, 2007

Random fun fact: Because they've determined that a certain fraction of the permitted vehicles are not present at any given point (even overnight), the cap on permits for a zone is 110 permits for every 100 parking spots.
posted by winston at 5:21 PM on December 9, 2007

i've never tried to get a permit, but i know there are a lot of cyclist renters in that part of town, so if you can't get a permit, for sure you can rent a spot from someone for around $30-60 a month. check craigslist, and if that doesn't pan out, post a handwritten sign at a nearby yoga studio looking for a spot. i suggest a yoga studio because a high proportion of toronto yoga enthusiasts are women in their 20s who ride their bikes, live in rented portions of shared houses, could use the extra cash, and will enjoy doing an off-the-grid barter with you. i myself fit that demographic, and true to form, i rented out my apartment's parking spot for years.
posted by twistofrhyme at 5:28 PM on December 9, 2007

You can email them at [e-mail] or call them at 416-392-7873. They'll tell you if there is a waiting list for that area.

I think you should be fine getting a permit, though I haven't lived in that neighbourhood for 8 years. Most places with wait lists are south of Bloor/Danforth.

Just so you know, December is the first month of a six month cycle, so you'd probably have better luck applying now. You can apply online, too.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 5:45 PM on December 9, 2007

Welcome to the neighborhood! I'm just south of there. I used to live closer to Dupont and Dovercourt, and my housemate got a parking permit no problem. In fact, my roommate who was subletting for four months got one also, and she wasn't even a permanent resident, just in town from Germany on an internship. They, and any guests I ever had with cars, rarely had trouble finding parking on the street (although sometimes there wouldn't be a spot right in front of the house). There are a lot of people in the neighborhood who don't have cars, so I highly doubt you'll have a problem.

Psssst.
posted by SassHat at 8:23 PM on December 9, 2007

Oops, sorry - I meant:

Psssssst.
posted by SassHat at 8:24 PM on December 9, 2007