Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Paid parking should continue in Jasper but exempt residents and expand to other streets, according to a wrap-up report from municipal administration.
Council鈥檚 committee of the whole discussed the wrap-up report and the future of paid parking during its Dec. 14 meeting.
Among administration鈥檚 recommendations, one was that residents ought to be exempt from paid parking for up to two hours at a time.
鈥淭his exemption would ensure that the system of paid parking is focused on generating new revenue from visitors, and it acknowledges that locals are already supporting municipal infrastructure and operations through their property taxes,鈥� CAO Bill Given told council.
In 2021, the pilot project ran from July 21 until Oct. 11 with paid parking in effect from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for all two-hour, on-street parking in the downtown core.
The parking rate was $2 per hour for all parkers, including residents.
Bylaw enforcement issued 30 tickets and 2,398 warnings for paid parking violations.
According to administration, a resident survey conducted before the start of paid parking indicated a low support for the pilot project, and this sentiment remained largely unchanged at the conclusion of the pilot.
However, a majority of respondents in the follow-up survey indicated they would support paid parking if residents were exempt from paying for two hours at a time.
Coun. Rico Damota asked if monthly passes could be considered since some residents who work downtown are not able to walk or bike.
Given replied that this could be done if enough residents needed more than two hours at a time.
He later noted how longer exemptions may be needed for residents living in paid parking areas.
Coun. Scott Wilson said a credit system could be offered to residents.
Coun. Kathleen Waxer acknowledged that residents were already paying for parking through their property taxes while some residents had mobility concerns, but she was still worried about offering free two-hour parking.
鈥淚 am concerned, in an era of lots of focus on climate change, that we鈥檙e not discouraging residents from driving into the central business district, and we鈥檙e not providing a way to counteract that or encourage more use of bicycles or walking,鈥� Waxer said.
The committee recommended that council consider some exemptions in paid parking zones.
Council will consider this recommendation, among others, during its Jan. 4 meeting.
Expanding the program
Although no final decisions were made, council members leaned towards expanding the hours of paid parking and adding a few more streets.
On-street hours would be extended to run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Paid parking would be implemented on Connaught Street for another block north as well as Geikie Street between Hazel Avenue and Miette Avenue.
However, the committee recommended that council have paid parking only operate during the summer, rather than year-round, with the opportunity to review this again next fall.
Administration initially recommended that paid parking operate on a year-round basis, not just during the peak tourist season.
鈥淛asper is a year-round visitor community,鈥� Given said.
鈥淐ertainly, there are peaks and valleys in terms of the intensity of visitor traffic, but there is never a time when there are no visitors coming to our community, and the continuation of the program ensures that visitors are contributing to (paying for) municipal expenses.鈥�
Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey spoke against year-round paid parking, since many winter visitors only park for 15 minutes at a time to drop off their rental sports equipment.
鈥淥ur residents have said that they don鈥檛 want to pay for paid parking, reading the feedback, and I think if it hasn鈥檛 come from our residents and our businesses that they wanted year-round, I think it won鈥檛 be accepted,鈥� Kelleher-Empey said.
The committee also debated if paid parking should expand to municipal off-street parking lots.
Mayor Richard Ireland voiced his hesitation with this proposal.
鈥淚f we want to encourage people to go to our parking lots, we can鈥檛 charge the same price as we charge for premium stalls right in front of the business they want to visit,鈥� Ireland said.
鈥淚 think when we talk about resident exemptions, it鈥檚 sort of the same. The exemption you get as a resident is the parking lot, free use, that your tax dollars have already paid for.鈥�
Wilson suggested instead that off-street lots have a lower rate than on-street parking, rather than being completely free.
The committee directed administration to bring back an expanded fee and time-limit structure for these lots.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just good to explore the opportunity and then see what kind of revenues we can still maintain, because we have just shrunk the recommendation to six months as opposed to year-round, so that鈥檚 going to have implications in itself,鈥� Damota said.
Finally, it was suggested that more signage and physical payment kiosks be installed in order to increase awareness of the program and ease of use.
This recommendation was also forwarded to council.
Revenue generation
The pilot project generated just under $34,000 in net revenue to the municipality on just over $90,000 gross income with direct expenses of just under $57,000.
Payments were processed through a mobile app, although physical payments were accepted at the municipal administration office as well as the Fitness and Aquatic Centre.
Ireland said the revenue wasn鈥檛 as high as he expected.
鈥淚t surprises me that the outcomes are as limited as they appear to be,鈥� Ireland said.
鈥淲e ought to force a higher revenue target, but $2 per stall per day at the busiest time of year surprises me.鈥�
Given answered that revenue may have been impacted by changes in regional traffic, the late start of the program and the limited hours.
Editor's note: The story will be published for print on Dec. 23, 2021.
