The influx of visitors to Jasper this year is being felt by just about everyone, including the municipality’s bylaw enforcement unit.
So far this year bylaw officers have issued 601 tickets through the first seven months of the year, compared to 576 tickets over the same period last year, representing a four per cent increase.
Officers have also issued 697 warnings, a 15 per cent jump compared to this time last year.
“The numbers are up dramatically,” said Dave Osborne, the licensing and enforcement manager for the municipality, during a committee meeting Aug. 8.
Mayor Richard Ireland advised Osborne to try and avoid using the word “dramatically” to describe the uptick in tickets because it could be interpreted in many different ways.
“It’s barely commensurate with the increase in visitation,” said Ireland. “I would just let the statistics speak.”
While the year-over-year increase may be in the single digits, compared to 2015 the number of tickets and warnings issued by the municipality have jumped by nearly 100 per cent over the past two years.
In 2015 bylaw officers issued 331 tickets and 343 warnings through the first seven months of the year, according to Osborne in a follow up discussion.
Ireland also asked that future reports include a breakdown on the different infractions so councillors can get a sense about what is or isn’t being enforced.
Anecdotally he said he’s seen an increase in the number of bicycles and skateboards going the wrong way on Patricia Street or using the sidewalk when they shouldn’t be, raising a potential safety concern.
Osborne said they stop cyclists and skateboarders in town, but emphasized that it should be a joint effort between the RCMP and bylaw.
While the statistics may not indicate what offences were committed, that stats do show that about 77 per cent of the violators are visitors.
“We deal more with locals during street sweeping, snow removal and when we’re assisting the operations department,” explained Osborne.
The projected revenue from the infractions could net the municipality about $42,000 if all of the tickets issued so far this year are paid.
In comparison the municipality collected just over $32,000 last year from the tickets it issued through the first seven months.
Beyond issuing tickets and warnings, bylaw also responded to 1,989 calls for service through the first seven months of the year, up by another 88 calls compared to the same period in 2016.
“I can tell you the month of August is booming right now,” said Osborne. “It’s the eighth day and we’re over 200 calls for service so our projected numbers from August will be even higher than July.”
His office has also seen an increase in the number of letters of complaint.
So far this year it has received 49 letters compared to a total of 57 letters in 2016.
Osborne said he tries to respond to each complaint in a timely manner.
Paul Clarke
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