Residential areas and zones without meters seem to be places you can leave your car without risking a ticket, according to a new CTV News and ESRI Canada analysis of parking tickets in Vancouver.
But if you park in some commercial zones or downtown -- including top ticketing spot Robson and Burrard -- watch out.
"There are definitely areas where you're going to be getting a ticket," said Julie Scott-Ashe of ESRI Canada, the software company that mapped the data.
- Related: Top ten places you'll get ticketed in Vancouver
- Related: Interactive ticket map
- Related: The Know Parking series
CTV News used a freedom of information request to obtain digital copies of every parking ticket issued in Vancouver over a two-week period in the spring.
With some 400,000 parking tickets issued per year, there was a lot of data to go through, so we asked software company ESRI Canada to help.
The company analyzed the data and built this map, which shows you where the parking ticket officers go and where they tend to avoid -- which could save you headaches and cash.
While parking ticket enforcement officers tended to avoid residential areas, and streets without meters, they were extremely vigilant in other parts of the city.
On Broadway, throughout downtown, and especially along 4th Avenue, parking enforcement officers seemed to be ticketing left and right -- with multiple tickets issued each day on each block.
The top streets to be ticketed were Davie Street in the West End, Granville Street in the downtown core, Homer Street in Yaletown, and along 4th Avenue.
But the top spot to be ticketed by far was 1000-block Robson, at the corner of Robson and Burrard.
CTV News sent drivers to some of the hot zones -- to Burrard and Robson, along Broadway, along Cordova, and on Hornby Street.
All four drivers left their vehicles, didn't pay the meter, and waited to see how long it would take to get a ticket.
For two hours, nothing happened -- and then it came, ticket after ticket.
A parking enforcement officer on Hornby Street beat the one patrolling Robson -- but at 3:00, the city was clearing the streets for rush hour and the cars were towed away.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's St. John Alexander and Jon Woodward
