Parking violators donate toys to cover their fines in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Parking violators lined up before dawn, some bringing lawn chairs, eager for a chance to pay their fines with teddy bears, dolls and other toys.

Mike Deverra, a waiter, said Monday he made his first toy store shopping spree to cover $800 (that’s $652 U.S.) in fines in Impark’s holiday drive. People who failed to pay or didn’t pay enough for parking could pay the value of the fine in children’s gifts to the Salvation Army.

“I worked at a restaurant in an office tower and would always park in the lot below. The meter would run out before my shift was up. I moved and the collection notices were being sent to my old address. It really added up,” Deverra said.

Impark’s effort to help disadvantaged children may have earned the parking lot operator some new friends, but not all were won over.

“I absolutely loathe Impark. I’d rather have a child have a toy than give any more money to Impark,” said Stephanie Jewell, slamming a toy down on the donation table. “They are not a community-based organization, and they’re generally a royal pain in the neck.

“You are guilty until proven innocent, which really annoys me. You can never get through to anyone in customer service. If you make a mistake with one of their parking machines, you’re considered in the wrong, even though it’s their machine.”

Still, workers on the receiving end were happy.

“These are all people who sit on the phone all day and listen to customer complaints,” said Corey Medgyesi, Impark’s manager of parking enforcement and collections.

“They’ve all got bigger smiles on their faces today then they usually do at work.”

Also participating were Impark offices in Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince George, all in partnership with the Salvation Army, which will distribute the toys.

“This is corporate social responsibility in action,” Salvation Army spokesman John Murray said. “We certainly celebrate that and obviously the community does too. There are literally thousands of toys here that will make a difference in the lives of so many kids this season.

Medgyesi said Monday that Impark will probably wind up forgiving more tickets than he anticipated.

“The turnout has been pretty overwhelming,” he said. “I had hoped to figure out the final tally today, but I think it’s going to take a couple of days to count all this up.”