Councillor Shawn Cleary wants a staff report on developing a bylaw for vehicle immobilization

A regional councillor wants to know how you feel about booting.

Shawn Cleary will be putting forward a motion at Thursday's Transportation Standing Committee to request a staff report on vehicle immobilization on private property.

The councillor for Halifax West Armdale said right now it's "the wild west" and he wants to look at the idea of implementing some regulations.

"Look at things like should the employees who are putting the boot on and taking payment, should they have to have identification, uniforms, should there be some sort of label or identification on their vehicles," Cleary told NEWS 95.7's The Sheldon MacLeod Show.

"Oftentimes these vehicles are showing up and there's no indication of what company these people work for, there's no indication that they're enforcement of any kind."

He'd also like staff to explore the possibility of setting a maximum fine, response times for boot removal, requiring signage explaining the potential consequences of parking illegally and making sure there are convenient payment options.

"I've heard stories that a guy shows up with an iPhone and a square and you have to give him a credit card. That's the only way you can pay," he explained. "But many of us may not have credit cards, our credit cards might be full, we might have cash on us, we might have a debit card."

Cleary said, as Halifax's population grows, there will be a greater demand for parking spots, so he thinks this is the ideal time to develop a bylaw on booting in the municipality.

"These are all things that, in fairness, allow the property owners to police [parking] and regulate it, but also give citizens some sense of what the rules are and what they can expect if they do break those rules."

Since posting a video on social media about the issue, Cleary said he's heard a lot of differing opinions from people all over the province.