Traffic bylaw passes first reading

The city of Iqaluit’s traffic, parking and walking bylaw received first reading at a council meeting on Tues, Nov. 22.

That bylaw would bring traffic fines to the city for the first time. Proposed fines include:

* $50 for unauthorized parking. This includes parking in front of driveways, on walkways, within three metres of fire hydrants or five metres of stop or yield signs.
* $50 for failing to park in a designated parking stall. This includes failing to back into the new back-in parking stalls in the downtown core.
* $75 for failing to yield right-of-way to pedestrians within a crosswalk;
* $150 for operating a vehicle on a walkway or city trail.

The traffic bylaw won’t get second reading before the New Year, said the city’s chief administrative officer, Ian Fremantle. He said council needs time to “digest” the implications of the bylaw, as well as wait for public input. The bylaw will go back to committee of the whole for discussion before its second reading.

“This is a radical change to how people conduct themselves in the downtown core,” Fremantle said.