Someone parked in my bin's permit area on an Ottawa street: what now?

Contact the City: that is the step the City of Ottawa's FAQ on TCE permits gives when someone is parked in your encroachment area. The contact details are on the City's Temporary Construction-related Encroachment (TCE) permit page.

The permit is in the name of the permit holder and is not transferable, so the holder makes that call. The City accepts applications from residents, contractors or construction companies, so the holder may be you, your contractor or the bin company, depending on what you agreed in writing.

It helps to have these ready:

• the permit itself, which the holder must post prominently on the outside of the encroachment area
• the address and the exact location of the permitted area
• the days and times the permit covers, since the City may limit a permit to part of the day or to specified days

If your permitted area includes parking spaces, the City's FAQ explains how that is set up: after the application is submitted, a Traffic Management Inspector contacts the applicant, and temporarily removing parking needs a minimum of four business days notice.

The permit holder also supplies all traffic-control devices for the area, in general conformance with the Ontario Traffic Manual Book 7, and in winter removes snow from it and keeps walkways clear.

If the bin has not arrived yet, tell the bin company the spot is taken before delivery day, so the drop-off can be planned around it.

The next step is the one the City names: contact the City with the permit details in hand.