Civic parking revenue collapses

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This article was published 05/06/2020 (1959 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CITY of Winnipeg parking revenues have plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially punching a hole in the general budget.

As Winnipeggers stayed home to reduce the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus, their cars remained there as well.

The city says just $230,000 in on-street parking revenue was raised during April and May — down from $1.44 million during the same two months of 2019, or an 84 per cent drop.

In its 2020-23 budget, the city predicted it would average about $665,000 of monthly parking revenue, or about $1.33 million in two months.

“COVID-19 will have an impact on (the Winnipeg Parking Authority) bottom line, and dividend implications will be considered as part of the 2021 budget update,” city spokesman Adam Campbell wrote Friday in an emailed statement.

“As at May 29, 2020, (the) annual on-street parking revenue shortfall is estimated to be $4.1 million (for all of 2020).”

The city originally expected to raise $23.9 million of street parking revenues this year.

Council is also able to take millions of dollars in a dividend from the WPA each year to support its overall budget — a transfer that reached $9.9 million in 2019, and was expected to provide $11.1 million in 2020.

Randy Topolniski, WPA chief operating officer, noted the financial outlook could still change.

“It’s hard to (estimate) because we don’t know how much longer (the pandemic will last)… Like every other business, we’re down in our revenues,” said Topolniski.

He noted the WPA also plans to use a 2019 surplus to support a proposed parking fee reduction, which would decrease metered parking rates by 75 cents per hour, if city council approves. He said the authority expects it would help attract drivers back downtown.

Coun. Scott Gillingham (St. James), finance committee chairman, said he is concerned about the impact of lost parking revenues, though it was expected when public health recommendations urged Winnipeggers to stay home as much as possible.

“When the economy shuts down to combat the pandemic, it not only hurts business and household incomes, it erodes government revenues as well, so the City of Winnipeg must and will adjust our budgets accordingly,” said Gillingham.

Due to the effect on the dividend, Gillingham noted the parking revenue shortfall will affect other parts of the city’s budget.

“I’m certain it’s going to have somewhat of a ripple effect but, of course, it all depends on how long it takes for the economy to get back up to full steam,” he said.

The councillor said he supports the proposal to cut parking fees, however, in an effort to help businesses recover from their pandemic losses.

“Can we afford not to (do so), I guess, is the question,” said Gillingham. “If people are not coming downtown to… shop at those businesses, then we’re not going to get that (parking) revenue anyway.”

If the fee reduction is approved by council, Gillingham said he would like to see data collected on exactly how businesses fared following the price reduction.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga