THUNDER BAY — Motorists in the city could be getting a break on metered parking for the next couple of years, as council will consider a plan to implement time-limited parking
The recommendation to scale back the city’s parking strategy is up for discussion at the next city council meeting on May 26.
City council was informed by coun. Andrew Foulds, who chaired Monday's committee of the whole meeting, said that a council member had put forward a notice of motion.
Council rules didn't allow debate at the May 12 council meeting, councillors did pose questions to city administration to clarify the report.
In the report, staff recommend council allow two hours of free on-street meter parking in most of the city, and four free hours at the marina.
City manager John Collin said the reason for setting limits on the free parking is to “avoid clogging up the most valuable parking spaces with either workers who work in the shops or residents who want to live in the cores."
The idea is to incentivize the public to go to the cores where parking is limited to shop, dine, attend appointments, or participate in community activities, but also to encourage a healthy turnover of those parking spots.
At the marina, commissioner of corporate services Keri Greaves said, “parking plays a different role.”
“It's a destination for recreation and leisure, and based on the data, there is sufficient parking capacity. In other words, turnover isn't a concern. As such, paid parking is not necessary at this time,” said Greaves.
To access free parking, Greaves stressed, motorists would still be required to register through the mobile app or pay stations. Doing so will ensure the city is “collecting meaningful data to guide future decisions.”
Greaves said the parking patrol will still be out marking vehicle tires for those using coins to pay for parking, but said he “encourage(s) all users to use the technology available.”
Collin explained that there are two parts to the scaling back of the parking strategy.
Firstly, if passed, the city plans to work on a long-term strategy to evaluate the data on meter parking usage and turnover to determine future user fees.
Secondly, Collin said a new parking strategy will be linked to revitalizing the north and south cores.
“I will tell you that task force growth, which is developing the smart growth action plan for the city, will reaffirm the importance of revitalizing the cores.
"So, what we are suggesting, in addition to doing the long-term steady state strategy, is what can we do as a short-term, immediate action to begin the revitalization of the cores and see if it's effective?” said Collin.
"And the answer to that, in very simple language, is what we would basically say is two-hour free parking in the cores. And if you need to stay longer in the same spot, you can pay for two additional hours.
"That's it. It's as simple as it gets. If you need to stay in a spot all day long, go to the parkade or go to a service lot.”
If council approves the recommendation on May 26, the new parking strategy will end in 2027. Until that time, the city’s short-term plan is to collect data on the residents' parking habits.
Collin said, “whether at the end of the day, there is empirical proof that this moratorium on some of the parking rates — this is free parking for two hours and four hours at the marina — will actually make a significant difference? Time will tell. That's why we're doing it for a period of time. We'll analyze the data, and we will adjust accordingly."
