Parking is causing major headaches for those living on residential streets in Toronto’s downtown core.

“There’s a huge lack of parking and a lot of it is occupied by people who don’t even live here,” Johnny Difruscia tells CityNews.

Difruscia is just one of many on Seaton Street who say drivers are also leaving their vehicles park longer than the free one hour parking between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

A stretch of construction on Shuter Street has sent more drivers to seek parking elsewhere, and Difruscia says it’s putting a strain on permit holders who are left defenseless.

“It’s really just a lack of parking designated for residents,” Disfruscia explains. “And lack of enforcement for one hour parking for three hour parking on the street.”

The Toronto Police Parking Enforcement Unit confirms to CityNews it has increased enforcement in the neighbourhood after it was made aware of the issue. The officer adds the area supervisor is in touch with Councillor Pam McConnell’s office, on how the city can best address this growing concern, that’s also affecting other streets throughout the downtown core.

“We need to just give more of a priority to residents who live on the street,” Difruscia said.

“Most of the houses are pretty old, they don’t have driveways, and if someone takes my spot, I’d be pretty upset about it,” Joshua Cordeiro says, as he struggled to park his vehicle on Tecumseth, near King Street West.

Councillor Mike Layton tells CityNews his office regularly gets complaints about parking on residential streets in Ward 19, adding that they are looking at how to best address residents’ concerns. He says two options for non-permit holders include changing the parking hours or implementing a meter system.

“That also discourages people from staying the whole day for free, because they’re more likely to get a ticket,” Councillor Layton explained.

On Friday, Councillor Pam McConnell’s office sent the following email statement to CityNews:

“Permit parking areas in the downtown are often abused by commuters looking for free parking which strains the ability of residents who have lawfully purchased their permits to find spaces. Parking Enforcement attempts to patrol and enforce on streets and in neighbourhoods that are experiencing this. This particular problem shifts over time, and they direct their enforcement based on complaints received from residents or from feedback that our office receives.”

The Councillor’s office adds that they were told by residents that there was an increase in illegal parking on Seaton Street in the last few days, requesting additional enforcement.

“There are additional tools that Council has at its disposal, such as adjusting the time in which non-permit parking can occur (such as moving from an 8:00 AM start to a 10:00 AM start), adjusting the number of hours that a car can park (from the standard 3 hours to 1 hour – as has already happened on Seaton), or implementation of pay and display parking. These solutions are explored only after consultation with local residents. That conversation will occur on Seaton Street and with the local Resident’s Association to see if changes beyond heightened enforcement are required,” the statement reads.