ByWard Market has a 'ruthless' parking enforcement problem
The fines are not cheap, either, adding an extra $40-$130 or more to your excursion, depending on the infraction.
By Lynn Saxberg, Ottawa Citizen
Published Nov 24, 2025 | Last updated 1 hour ago
Ottawa musician Shawn Tavenier has collected several parking tickets this year while trying to make a living as a guitar-playing singer-songwriter.
It stings every time, especially when the fine eats most of his wage, but the one that felt most unfair happened in the ByWard Market during the Easter weekend last spring.
Tavenier had performed at the Chateau Lafayette, and returned the next day to pick up the rest of his gear. He stopped his car in front of the York Street tavern, activated the hazard lights and popped into the bar to grab the city-issued parking permit designed to allow musicians time to load in or out of venues.
The musicians’ and artists’ loading permit was created in 2018 in response to a litany of complaints from musicians who had been ticketed. To acquire the permit, it’s up to the venue owner to apply online, pay a $50 fee and then loan the paper pass out to musicians.
According to the city website: “Each permit card will allow drivers to temporarily park on-street in a “Loading Zone” or signed “No Parking Zone” with the ability to leave vehicles displaying the musician and artist loading permit unattended and/or inactive for up to 15 minutes at a time, in addition to the time spent actively loading/un-loading the vehicle.”
Tavenier was gone for less than two minutes. But by the time he got back with the permit, a parking-control officer was writing him a ticket.
Tavenier reasoned with him, but the official did not recognize the permit.
“The ticket that he gave me was basically for my whole paycheck the day before,” Tavenier said. “It was ruthless.”
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https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/byward-market-parking-enforcement
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