Melissa Goncalves was getting a late-night coffee at a Tim Hortons near Caledonia Rd. and Lawrence Ave. W. on Tuesday when she witnessed something “totally unfair” — a Toronto parking enforcement vehicle pulled into a designated wheelchair-accessible parking space.

“There were many spots available next to it — the whole row was empty, basically,” Goncalves, 18, said, adding she doesn’t understand why the officers chose the wheelchair-accessible spot.

“I don’t think it’s fair, because my grandfather’s handicapped,” she said. “That’s there for a reason. They shouldn’t be parked there at all.”

Goncalves immediately snapped a photo of the cruiser, which clearly shows the vehicle parked on top of a blue-and-yellow wheelchair-accessible spot. She sent it to CP24.

But Toronto police say the officers were not breaking the law.

According to police spokeswoman Isabelle Cotton, a parking space is not considered an official wheelchair-accessible spot unless there is a sign painted on the pavement, as well as one posted above the spot. In this case, there was only a sign on the ground, she said.

“It’s legal to park there. You cannot give a parking ticket for that,” she said.

Nonetheless, a Toronto police supervisor went to the Tim Hortons Wednesday to find out what happened, and there will be an internal investigation, Cotton said.

According to the City of Toronto accessibility design guidelines, all accessible parking spaces should be marked with the international symbol of accessibility and have both a paved and mounted sign.

Alexandra Cygal, manager of public affairs at Tim Hortons, says there is accessible parking at every Tim Hortons in Canada. The chain is in the process of providing additional signage where it is required, including at that location.

In the meantime, she says the majority of people are not parking in the spots, whether they have posted signs or not.

“We’ve been very fortunate that most of our guests are respectful of these spots. They see the clearly marked spot on the ground and they don’t park there,” she said.

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Sandra Carpenter, executive director of the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto, says it’s a problem if people misunderstand the rules and park in a spot reserved for people with disabilities.

“It’s a hard-won battle for us to have designated spots at all,” Carpenter said. “I feel that police should be role models for the rest of us, and not bending the rules to suit themselves, if that’s, in fact, what happened.”

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