Toronto Police Officer Goes Viral For Ticketing A Truck In A Bike Lane & People Are Divided

A Toronto Police Service (TPS) Parking Enforcement Officer (PEO)'s TikTok video has gone viral, in which they can be seen issuing a parking ticket to a truck stopped in a bike lane on a downtown street.

The video explanation of the incident and why the ticket was issued was the source of the controversy, as people in the comments argued over whether or not it was fair for the driver to be slapped with a $150 fine.

"I come across the parked pickup truck and a trailer that is not hitched to the truck," explained PEO Erin Urquhart in her TikTok video she filmed while biking in the Palmerston Avenue and Dundas Street West area. "I obviously see that there is a house under construction right where the truck and trailer is parked."

After quickly looking around for the driver of the truck, she explained it's "not my job to go inside a construction site," and that "the damage was done when they stopped here."

Urquhart filmed herself printing out a $150 ticket that she placed on the windshield of the truck and described the parking job as "dangerous" and said it forces cyclists to move out in front of oncoming traffic.

The situation may seem self explanatory, but clearly it has divided some people online.

"You said damage was done...I don't see any damages..." wrote one person in the comments.

"That's more than a speeding ticket. Jesus Christ," said another.

Others were clearly in favour of the fine, with fellow cyclists thanks the TPS officer for their work, and some jokingly praising her for doing "the Lord's work" on Toronto streets.

But a lot of the frustration came from those who sympathized with the construction workers and the reality of just how hard it can be to find a parking spot in downtown Toronto, especially if you're a truck towing a trailer.

"Genuine question but wouldn’t it be more dangerous for the workers to have to cross the street with construction materials?" one person questioned in response to many people suggesting the vehicle simply be parking on the other side of the same street, like many other cars were.

On Twitter, Jeff referred to it as a "BS ticket," and argued, "the guys are probably working on the INSIDE of the house."

"There is LITERALLY no place for them to park," he wrote.

All this to say, there was quite a debate over what is a pretty obvious rule of the rule. Most drivers know that they can't park in a bike lane, even if it's something that seems to happen a lot around Toronto.

In its first 24 hours, PEO Urquhart's video had tallied close to 1 million views.