One parking enforcement officer in Toronto says residents can huff and puff all day, but she isn’t budging on the law.
Erin Urquhart, who patrols the city on a bicycle, has been going viral for giving people an inside look at her everyday life enforcing the rules of the road.
In fact, Urquhart currently has over 10,000 followers on X and 360,000 followers on TikTok all thanks to her content that centres around issuing tickets to anyone violating the city’s zero tolerance parking policies.
Most recently, she posted a video where she handed out $150 fines to a car and a truck blocking a bike lane.
“When I am assigned a special detail for bike lane enforcement. It is ZERO tolerance,” she captioned the video.
She goes on to say that she doesn’t care if you only intended to stop for two minutes, or if you’re just picking someone up or even if you’re making a delivery.
“No excuse. Park legally. These parking offences are zero tolerance and more restrictive for a reason. Bike lanes keep cyclists safe. This happened to be an area where there is no protection curb as it’s a driveway to a PARKING garage,” she said.
“And a driver still shamelessly pulls in, turns their hazards. Guess what’s the hazard? THE CAR. $150 tag to be served in the mail and other served to windshield,” she continued, describing the fines she issued as a result of.
As you can imagine, the people of Toronto weren’t feeling it one bit.
“There is a special place in hell for people like you,” one person wrote under the video.
“Thanks officer Karen, what would the city do without you,” one user on X said.
However, others understood it was her job and that she is keeping people safe.
“Not all heroes wear capes!” one user said.
“Great job, thank you for your service, making Toronto streets safer for all,” someone else chimed in.
Urquhart admits she’s seen a lot of angry and hateful comments but stands by her actions and is no-nonsense when it comes to abiding by the rules.
Earlier this month, the Toronto Police Association put out a video that showed the ins and outs of what it means to be a parking enforcement and bicycle patrol officer.
“Meet our Parking Enforcement Officers. Our 400 PEO’s keep Toronto moving each day by ensuring no one is illegally parked, bike lanes are clear, driveways aren’t blocked, events move smoothly and more!” they tweeted.
“People don’t always think too highly of our Parking Enforcement Officers, but as our city continues to grow, they help you get to where you need to go quickly and efficiently. Our friendly PEO’s are the eyes and ears of our neighbourhoods and we are excited to give you an inside look at what they do each and every day to help the community and keep us moving.”
In the video, one officer shared that in 18 years he’s been assaulted three times. Another officer shared that she almost got run over by someone trying to escape a ticket.
