INUVIK - For the last four years Terrill Reid has followed the same parking routine when picking up his children at Sir Alexander Mackenzie School.

March 10 was no different, except this time he got a parking ticket.

Terrill Reid is shown with his stepson, Arthur, trying to negotiate a congested Sir Alexander Mackenzie School fire lane during lunch hour on Tuesday. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

Reid said he parked his truck off to the side of the school's fire lane and went into the building to pick up his five-year-old stepson Arthur. When they arrived back to his vehicle a few minutes later he was shocked to find it ticketed, with a fine of $25.

The roadway, which is accessed and exited from Mackenzie Road, has five signs which prohibit parking.

The lane is also the only way for drivers to access the front entrance parking lot, where parents or guardians are allowed to leave their vehicles while collecting their children.

Since December, the town's bylaw officer has been cracking down on fire lane parking violations, issuing tickets to parents leaving their vehicles unoccupied on the lane.

Reid said that puts unneeded stress on both parents and their children, particularly kindergarten students like Arthur.

"There's not enough parking space at the school," he said. "Arthur's not old enough to safely get from class to my vehicle. He's going to be wandering through traffic. Sometimes its -40 C. That's not safe."

The parking lot in front of the school has space for about 10 to 12 vehicles. The NWT Training Centre parking lot beside the school can also be used but it's small and borders SAMS playground. A small parking lot at the back of the building is for staff parking but can also be used for student pickup.

Now that the fire lane bylaw is being enforced, Reid said the lane becomes congested with a lineup of drivers during lunch time and after school, many of whom are waiting for a parking space that might take several minutes to become available.

"Parents want to make sure their children are safe, that their kids gets to school safely and not have any problems," said Reid. The bylaw officer is not even thinking about that. It's like he's thinking 'I don't care, this looks like a great place to write a whole bunch of tickets.'"

Don Ross was parked on the fire lane Monday at noon, waiting in his vehicle to pick up his wife, who's a teacher at the school, and his granddaughter, who's a student there.

He also said he thinks the bylaw is too strict, particularly for those who have to pick up children ages four and five years old.

"You're talking about very young children and a lot of single parents who have no one else to help them and don't have a lot of time to spare. Nobody wants their little kids running loose, especially with the threat of foxes around the school."

Town bylaw officer, Dave Ryan, said he's simply doing his job.

"It's a fire lane and if there was a fire, trucks have to be able to get through," he said.

"Fire trucks are large vehicles and if there's a situation, the individual in the school may not be aware the fire truck has to get through or they may not be able to move their vehicle in time."

Ryan said before he started issuing tickets, he asked the school in December to make an announcement to students warning them that the bylaw would be enforced. He said he also issued several warnings to drivers.

"It's not like I hide. I take the truck and park by the main doors."

He said an automatic fine of $25 will be issued to any unoccupied vehicle parked on the fire lane.

"I don't know what it's going to take," he said. "It's an emergency lane. You just can't park there."

Reid said he finds it difficult to imagine an emergency situation where he couldn't get back to his vehicle in time to make room for a fire truck.

"Kids are already going to be evacuated or I'll be in and out real fast to make sure it's clear."

Reid said when Tropicana shot a commercial in Jim Koe Park in January, vehicles were parked on the fire lane but no fines were handed out.

Mayor Denny Rodgers said the town sometimes closes the roadway for special events.

Reid suggested the town should assign lunch and after-school pick-up times where parents could leave their vehicles parked on the fire lane while they gathered their children.

"Some common sense has to be shown," he said.

Either way, Reid plans to continue parking his truck on the pathway and fetching his boy when the bylaw officer isn't around.

Rodgers said council plans to revisit all of its bylaws in the next three years, but he supports the fire lane parking bylaw. He said there's plenty of room beside and behind the school for people to park their vehicles. In fact he used to park beside the school to pick up his children while they attended SAMS.

"I never had a problem with it," he said.