By Spencer Sterritt

City of Nanaimo paying for Hometown Hockey parking tickets

Mar 1, 2017 | 3:44 PM

NANAIMO — An unfortunate communication gaff has led to the City of Nanaimo paying thousands of dollars in parking tickets.

Parking was free over the Hometown Hockey weekend at city owned parking lots, though not private ones. However, according to bylaw manager Rod Davidson, their free parking offer was accidentally extended to all parking lots downtown.

“As far as I can tell…there was some miscommunication between the flag people who were working at Maffeo Sutton park,” he said.

This led to residents parking in lots owned predominantly by Robbins Parking, according to Davidson, and receiving a ticket. He said roughly 100 tickets were handed out over the weekend, which the City has paid for.

“It’s always unfortunate when the message gets garbled or misinterpreted,” he said. “Certainly we’ll be paying a little bit stricter attention going ahead with this at the next function.”

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Davidson said they’ve paid the bill to Robbins Parking with surplus funds from the Hometown Hockey budget.

If anyone hasn’t yet paid their parking ticket from the Hometown Hockey weekend, they don’t have to.

Anyone who has already paid the fine can take their ticket and receipt to the Service and Resource Centre at 411 Dunsmuir St. to be reimbursed.

spencer.sterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit