Widow wins fight to have nearly $400 in parking charges waived

A widow from Fort Erie appears to have won her fight to get up to $400 in parking charges waived. She was parking her car at a local hospital lot, while her husband was undergoing treatment.

When Florence Shawn Watson’s husband was on his deathbed at Fort Erie hospital she says a parking ticket was the last thing on her mind but what shocked her was how much she was facing in penalties.

“My husband was dying, why should I worry about parking, I wanted to spend time with him,” Watson said.

Watson says her 79-year-old husband, Richard, died on Sept. 2nd after a five-month battle with renal cancer. As time passed, Watson says she received a letter stating she owed $248 for two unpaid parking tickets plus an additional $150 if she didn’t pay within 15 days.

Watson says she always keeps her parking stubs and only received one fine following a call from the hospital asking her to rush in.

“I went to use my card like I normally do, it wouldn’t work… took a MasterCard… wouldn’t read it. Wouldn’t read my debit card, so I went in stayed with my husband, came out, there was the ticket,” Watson said.

Watson adds she then wrote a letter to Niagara Health explaining her emergency but never heard back and thought everything was fine.

Niagara Health tells CHCH News the company that operates the parking lot is voiding Watson’s tickets based on compassionate grounds.

Niagara Falls Fort Erie MPP Wayne Gates believes parking at hospitals needs to change, “seniors should never have to pay, especially when visiting palliative care when its the last time they’re going to see their loved one.”

“They should never charge parking fees or most importantly they should never contract it out to a private company,” Gates said.

Watson says she’d like to see exemptions as well, “when you try to grieve and mourn… you don’t need this, especially a threatening letter.”