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The decision to park in prohibited areas of Halifax Regional Municipality could soon cost more.

Regional council will consider a motion at Tuesday’s meeting for a request to the province to increase fines for non-meter parking violations that fall under the provincial Motor Vehicle Act.

If passed, the motion will see fines for all Category A parking offences increase from $25 to $50. Category B violations would carry a fine of $75, up from $50. The fines for Category C parking offences would double to $200 from $100.

Category A offences are: stopping or parking where prohibited by a sign; at a bus stop or taxi stand; a passenger or loading zone; within five metres of a crosswalk or a fire hydrant; in an intersection; on a sidewalk; and in front of a driveway.

Category B violations are: parking when less than 4.5 metres of roadway remains; when the vehicle isn’t clearly visible from 60 metres away; interfering with snow removal; within 150 metres of a fire vehicle stopped in response to an alarm; and parking contrary to temporary special or emergency conditions.

Category C offences are: parking on left-hand roadway of a divided highway; stopping in a fire lane; parking in accessible zone without a mobility disabled identification permit; and stopping or parking on private property marked for use by a mobility disabled person without a permit.

The Committee of the Whole had earlier recommended that fines for Category A offences increase to $45, that Category B violations carry a $100 fine and that the fines for Category C offences jump to $150.

During the process that led to the proposed fine hikes, municipal staff reviewed fines from 15 Canadian municipalities, including the Atlantic region cities of Moncton, Fredericton, Charlottetown and St. John’s, N.L. Staff research found that current fines in HRM are lower than the Canadian average.

For example, the proposed HRM fine for stopping or parking in a taxi stand or a bus stop is $50, up from $25. The Canadian average is $58.75. The proposed fine for parking without a permit in a mobility disabled zone is $200, up from $100. The national average is $214. However, the proposed fine for parking in a fire lane is $200, up from $100. The national average for the fire lane fine is $103.

Fines for parking meter violations are set by the municipality. That bylaw stipulates a ticket amount of $25 for each hour of violation, reduced to $20 if payment is made within seven days of receiving the ticket. No changes have been proposed to parking meter fines.