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RMOW to offer parking ticket amnesty

Half off parking tickets over 30 days, with share of proceeds going to food bank

If you have a parking ticket or two or 10 stuffed in your glove box, now might be a good time to wipe the slate clean.

From Thursday, Nov. 19 to Dec. 3 the Resort Municipality of Whistler's bylaw department is offering people the chance to pay half their outstanding ticket values to wipe the slate clean, with $5 from every outstanding ticket going towards the Whistler Food Bank.

Sandra Smith of the bylaw department got the idea from Impark in Vancouver, which offered a similar program a few years ago.

"The intention is to give everybody an opportunity to clean up their old, outstanding parking tickets and to start with a clean slate, and raise money for the food bank," she said.

The amount people can save will depend on the ticket and when it was issued. Smith says some chronic offenders have upwards of $1,200 in unpaid parking tickets.

There is no limit. If you have 10 tickets over the 30-day limit then you can pay half for all 10 tickets, and the municipality will pay $50 to the food bank.

The Whistler Food Bank is still in need of donations after higher than normal volume over the summer cleared out shelves that were being stocked for this winter. According to Kari Mancer, the community has stepped up recently with food donations and fundraising - including a Wood Chop Fundraiser with Vision Pacific and Local Automotive that raised $3,000 for the food bank.

However, while demand has stabilized and is more or less on par with last year, the food bank's shelves are still on the low side.

"We were completely cleared out," said Mancer of the summer demand. "A lot of community groups have been getting together to collect food and money for us... but the shelves are still more bare than they were last year at this time and we're still looking for a lot of support to get through Christmas."

The Whistler Food Bank has posted a guide to hosting food drives on its website at www.mywcss.org and is hoping for strong support through the Christmas party season.

The Whistler Community Services Society, which hosts the food bank, is also putting together Christmas hampers for the holidays. Any families that are struggling through the holidays are invited to apply for a hamper, which includes food, gifts and other items donated and purchased by sponsors. More information is posted at www.mywcss.org under Programs.