City committee approves move to charge for evening street parking downtown

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This article was published 19/01/2015 (4272 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Be prepared to pay for evening parking in some areas of downtown this summer.

A civic committee Monday morning endorsed a request from the Winnipeg Parking Authority to extend the pay period for on-street parking in the area surrounding the MTS Centre to 8:30 p.m. but with a two-hour limit.

However the parking authority’s request to extend pay parking to a larger section of the downtown was rejected by the alternative services delivery committee – at least until next year, to assess the impact from the initial changes.

Committee chairman Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) said the proposal still needs to be approved by the executive policy committee and all of council – where the initiative could be altered or rejected outright.

“The problem is, there are a lot of people who are using downtown Winnipeg streets for longer-term parking and that’s not what it’s really intended for,” Browaty said of the need for the parking changes. “We are having a challenge making parking available on our downtown streets.”

Two-hour limit will also apply

Currently, motorists are required to pay for on-street parking until 5:30 p.m., and it’s free after that with no time restrictions.

The two-hour parking limit that’s in effect now during the daytime will also apply in the evening.

The downtown area where the evening parking rates will apply is formally known as the SHED – the sports, hospitality, and entertainment district.

Council had initially approved evening parking rates for that area in 2012 but it was never implemented.

Streets not a free parking lot: parking authority

The proposal was supported by the Downtown Business Improvement Zone. Stephano Grande, the BIZ executive director, said most members of the organization supported the evening parking fees, adding it’s believed to be the best way to free up on-street parking spaces.

Randy Topolniski, chief operating officer of the parking authority, said the changes will likely go into effect by mid- or late-summer – if approved by council – allowing the agency time to conduct a public education campaign and do the necessary changes to the affected pay stations.

Topolniski said the objective of the evening pay parking plan was to discourage people from using the downtown streets as a free parking lot, freeing up parking spaces for those going to dinner or other businesses on a short-term basis.

All available street parking in the evenings is taken up by visitors to MTS Centre events and area employees, Topolniski said, leaving local business operators irate that their customers are unable to park downtown for a meal or business appointment.

Topolniski said the new charges will likely generate $50,000 to $100,000 in revenue but added that’s not the objective.

The modified plan was recommended by Coun. Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas), who moved the motion that will require the parking authority to come back to city hall if it wants to extend the pay parking zone any further.

Browaty had suggested a compromise during the meeting that he believed would free up parking spaces in the evening without the fees: allow only two hour of free parking after 5:30 pm and enforce it.

But Topolniski rejected Browaty’s suggestion, explaining that threats of fines would alienate motorists.

 

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca