Fines for removing objects can range from $100 to $300 depending on how many people are needed to clear the space

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Snow-covered residential roads have some Vancouver homeowners trying to reserve parking spots on public streets, but putting objects on public roads could end in fines.

Along a neighbourhood street in East Vancouver, laundry baskets, buckets and garbage bins line the road as drivers attempt to protect parking spots outside their homes.

We clear our sidewalks, and the paths to our front door, but if we clear the spot on the street out front, do we get to reserve it? #yvrsnow #justcurious @CityofVancouver #bcstorm #yvr pic.twitter.com/30OQE3s8nO — Tamara Slobogean (@realslobo) February 11, 2019

The technique isn’t limited to a single season, with residents across the neighbourhood putting objects on the road year-round, particularly during events such as the Fair at the PNE in the summer.

“Because everybody has too many cars. This family over here has ten cars, so they take everybody’s parking if you don’t put out pylons,” resident Doug Bartlet said, adding as snow makes accessible parking spots premium real estate, those who clear a spot should be able to reserve it indefinitely. “It’s good to dig it out too, so you’re not slipping and sliding around. Yeah, let me use it.”

Street parking remains a hotly contested issue in a region that is also grappling with a housing crisis.

Some neighbourhoods continue to push back against expanded basement suite rentals and taller apartment complexes, as law makers look at creative solutions to affordably house more people.

Homeowners argue the additional cars could affect their ability to find parking.

Norm Atchison says he doesn’t put objects on the street, but he does see the spot as rightfully his.

“I put out a sign. I just say ‘Be a good neighbour, dig your own hole and don’t be a claim jumper.’ Really simple. Most people observe that,” he said.

From laundry baskets to garbage cans, people seem to be using all kinds of things to illegally reserve parking spots in this #EastVancouver neighbourhood…@CityNewsVAN @BT_Vancouver @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/1ed63FdKkf — Ashley Grace Burr (@AshleyBurr_) February 13, 2019

According to the City of Vancouver, “Reserving parking spots with garbage cans or cones is not permitted under Section 72 (1) of Street & Traffic Bylaw #2849. The City will remove these obstructions where we encounter them or upon request.”

Items such as garbage cans or cones are removed by the City but no fines are issued. If the sanitation department has to help remove the items, fines could range from $100 to $300 depending on how many people are needed to clear the space.

If someone were actively preventing the removal of the items they could be fined up to $10,000, a spokesperson for the City told NEWS 1130

However, catching offenders or proving who put the objects on the road can be difficult.