A CBC investigation has found that U of T Campus Police personnel are parking their vehicles on both Spadina Avenue and Sussex Avenue without proper parking permits.
Sussex Avenue is the narrow road behind Robarts Library where the 21 Sussex Clubhouse, home to various U of T student clubs and Campus Police, is located. Private residences line the other side of the road.
CBC News observed vehicles parked on the road for eight hours a day for three days. They found that vehicles belonging to constables and sergeants displayed a “folded white sheet of paper” on their dashboards in place of parking permits.
In 2016, CBC News reported that campus police officers were placing U of T police patches on their dashboards in order to avoid parking fines. At the time, U of T told CBC News that it had “cracked down on the problem.”
When asked about the recent alleged parking scheme, a U of T media spokesperson wrote to The Varsity that “the university was not aware of any special arrangements with the City of Toronto regarding parking prior to media reports.”
“U of T actively supports the city enforcing parking regulations near our campus.”
In 2017, the City of Toronto issued a total of 28,224 tickets at UTSG, amassing a total of $1,349,475 in fines.
Currently, the cost of a monthly parking pass for students ranges from $140–320, depending on the parking lot.
University of Toronto Students’ Union President Joshua Bowman tweeted his frustration over the parking scheme, noting that “there is a gross disparity in how [campus police] interact with basic services at UofT compared to other members of the campus community.”
Bowman also criticized the university for using parking services as a tool to generate money from students.
