Everyone has seen cars left on a snowy street and the walls of snow the plows leave around them.
In Scarborough, such vehicles left overnight in winter months cause "ongoing headaches we've seen over the years," Ward 38 (Scarborough Centre) Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker told fellow councillors this week.

It's frustrating for residents and the police "are just as frustrated as us," because they can't immediately ticket those cars, encouraging their owners to park them somewhere else, before the plows have come and gone, De Baeremaeker said.

In North York, police can ticket or even tow vehicles left on the street from 2 to 6 a.m., Dec. 1 to March 31. 

That makes snow-clearing more efficient, said De Baeremaeker, "so those of us who park in our driveways can get to work the next day."

At his suggestion, Scarborough Community Council is asking the city's public works committee to report on a possible Scarborough-wide overnight winter parking ban that mirrors the North York bylaw. 

Ward 36 (Scarborough Southwest) Councillor Brian Ashton, however, called the proposal "a political bombshell" since many residents of his ward don't have enough driveway space to park their cars off the street. 

Local councillors will also get an update on snow-clearing in Scarborough next month, after Ward 39 (Scarborough Agincourt) Councillor Mike Del Grande reported some recent "challenges" in areas north of Hwy. 401.