Confusion surrounds whether downtown parking is free on Saturdays

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This article was published 16/01/2016 (3763 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pity the person trying to park downtown on a Saturday.

You look at the street sign showing the pay-station icon and it seems clear — 2h 9:00-17:30 Mon-Fri / 8:00-17:30 Sat.

So you prepare to pay.

But when you approach the meter, you notice a small sticker at its base stating two hours of parking is complimentary on Saturday — that’s if you notice it.

Unsure, you drop in a couple of loonies just to be safe.

More than 1,700 motorists are plugging downtown meters every Saturday, despite two hours of free parking, data provided by the City of Winnipeg show.

Coun. Jeff Browaty was surprised by the numbers. He said it is clear the city isn’t doing a good job of informing Winnipeggers about the rules; the first two hours are free on Saturday, but motorists must pay for the subsequent two hours.

“I would wager a guess that the majority of those 1,700 people who paid on a Saturday are, in fact, paying for their first two hours, not for time above and beyond,” said Browaty, chairman of the committee that oversees the Winnipeg Parking Authority.

City officials disagree. They believe the number represents Winnipeggers who are properly interpreting parking bylaws and paying to stay for the further two hours downtown.

“I’ll have to take the (parking authority’s) word for it,” said Browaty, adding he has never seen the rule advertised or communicated to the public.

Motorist Chris Schwab, a Winnipegger who doesn’t often drive downtown, said he assumed he would have to pay on Saturdays.

“Err on the side of caution is what I would do,” said Schwab, who, when looking at the street signage, concluded he is required to pay.

Curt Keiser, who was aware of Saturday’s free parking, was surprised to learn he can stay an extra two hours if he plugs the meter.

Meanwhile, Shelley Remple, who teaches English as a second language at Red River College on William Avenue, isn’t surprised Winnipeggers have trouble following the signs, noting she often devotes an entire class to teaching new Canadians how to interpret their meaning.

“We have to have a special class just on how to read the parking signs downtown,” she said. “If I don’t understand it, how do I teach it to my students?”

Officials from the parking authority wouldn’t do an interview. Felicia Wiltshire, the city’s director of corporate communications, said in a statement the authority has not received any complaints about signage.

She provided this explanation for the discrepancy between signage and meters: “The two-hour complimentary parking rule is not regulatory in nature and therefore is not permitted on street signage,” she said in the statement, adding parking signage is approved by the Highway Traffic Board.

“We are obviously not doing a good job making it clear that paying for parking on Saturdays is not required,” Browaty said. “I think at least in the interim, bigger stickers would be the first thing to do, to make it more clear.”

Neil McArthur, director of the centre for professional and applied ethics at the University of Manitoba, said the city shouldn’t ignore a case of miscommunication just because no one has complained.

“That’s a terrible justification, as an ethicist that is the exactly wrong thing for an official to say,” McArthur said. “All kinds of things can go on behind the scenes that will never get complained about. (The city) are the ones with the data, which makes it important to communicate. (The residents) aren’t complaining because they don’t know.”

Put clear signs up or better advertise the bylaws around the city and online, he said.

“The obligation to be transparent becomes greater as the situation becomes more confusing and harder for any member of the public to find out about,” McArthur said.

“There is always a public responsibility for the government to communicate as clearly as possible through reasonable means,” he added. “Just because it is a small amount of money, in aggregate it is a large amount of money, so the mere fact it affects individuals in a minor way doesn’t justify this practice.”

Stefano Grande, executive director of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, would like no driver to park downtown longer than two hours on Saturdays, especially in the high-demand area around the MTS Centre known as the sports, hospitality and entertainment district.

By promoting more turnover, it would encourage more people to go downtown to shop or for lunch. For those attending an afternoon Jets game or who work downtown, surface parking lots are available.

Data provided by the parking authority show there is little turnaround in the SHED district, even on Saturdays, Grande said.

“We definitely want to evolve the parking rates and costs in the SHED district,” he said.

As the city continues to explore overhauling downtown parking, including possibly charging for evening parking in the SHED district, Browaty said Saturday parking policies should be examined, too.

kristin.annable@freepress.mb.ca