Parking Meter Rate Increase

[unimaginative2]

TRAFFIC

Silver lining to parking-meter price hike?
Proposed 50-cent increase would open up more downtown spots, parking authority president says
JEFF GRAY

A proposed 50-cent rate hike in most of Toronto's on-street parking meters will help drivers find a coveted downtown spot, thanks to supply and demand, the head of the Toronto Parking Authority says.

"I don't think there is going to be any kind of a backlash," Maurice Anderson, the parking authority's president, said yesterday of the hike, which comes before the planning committee tomorrow and must still be approved by city council. "I think 50 cents is reasonable."

The rates for the most expensive spots on downtown streets - there are 770 of them - are to rise to $3.50 an hour from $3. Mr. Anderson said the hike will help ensure that drivers can find on-street spaces when they need them for short-term errands such as shopping.

"What it's going to do, hopefully, is create some turnover," Mr. Anderson said.

The TPA tries to set prices so that a small percentage of on-street spots remain vacant, keeping rates high enough to force drivers hoping to park for longer into off-street lots.

Mr. Anderson pointed to the concept's success in the Beaches, where, he said, higher on-street parking prices have unclogged Queen Street East on busy summer weekends, forcing day trippers or employees of local businesses to park in off-street lots and freeing up on-street spots for shoppers or restaurant-goers.

While Mr. Anderson argued that parking authority's overall price structure hasn't changed since 1999, preamalgamation parking prices in many parts of the city (as low as 50 cents an hour) were gradually raised to the TPA's set levels over that time. And in 2004, rates were hiked in the downtown when the parking authority created a more expensive zone to keep up with price increases in off-street lots, to ensure turnover in coveted downtown on-street parking spots.

There are two other reasons behind the proposed hike, Mr. Anderson said. One is inflation: The new rates, on average, represent a 30-per-cent increase from 1999, the parking authority says, which compares to inflation over that time of about 25 per cent. Mr. Anderson said another hike is unlikely for at least the next five years.

The parking authority is also spending $10-million to retrofit meters with credit-card readers, making this a convenient time to reprogram the meters for the rate hike, which itself will cost about $1-million, he said.

Exempt from the price hike will be 4,000 meters in low-traffic areas, such as along the Lake Shore in Etobicoke, where the lowest $1-an-hour rate will remain in effect.

Another potential sweetener is a move to extend a three-hour parking limit across the board, replacing the two-hour limit now in effect during the day in many areas.

Lawyer John Weingust, who has gone to court to challenge the city's right to charge for parking and who ran a fringe campaign for mayor last year, said the price hike was unacceptable. "It's just another cash grab," Mr. Weingust said.Big-city prices

The city's on-street parking prices are "consistent" with those in other Canadian cities, considering difference in population and demand, the parking authority says. Here's how the hourly rates compare:

Vancouver: $1 to $4

(with an increase to $5 expected)

Calgary: $1 to $3.50

Montreal: $1 to $3

Ottawa: $2.50

Quebec City: $2

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I think that it would be a good idea to consider dropping rates in other parts of the city again. $1.50 an hour in North York Centre or places like that is too high. Conversely, I wouldn't mind an extra 50 cents on the busy downtown streets.

 

[Admiral Beez]

That's why I ride my motorcycle, free parking at all metered spots.

 

[roch5220]

Thats crazy.
I stayed a month or two ago at the Cambridge Suites over the weekend, and I had no trouble finding metered spots to park my rental car (granted, I had to go back every hour until it became no charge). Along the east side of the hotel, there were a lot of unused spots. Maybe summer is diffferent.

 

[ShonTron]

Toronto's not the only one. In an interesing development, Mississauga is going to charge for parking throughout, particularly MCC. Though Square One still has lots of free parking - they will have to step up enforcement. GO's also building a park and ride lot there, and paid parking is against their religion (a savvy Port Credit or Downtown Brampton parker can use the GO lot for free on a weekend).

Free parking soon to be gone

May 04, 2007 04:30 AM
Phinjo Gombu
Staff Reporter

Toronto residents may bemoan a decision by city council to jack up street parking rates, but in neighbouring Mississauga, residents may be in for more of a shock as the city takes steps toward ending the tradition of free parking almost everywhere.

And it's not just Mississauga – Burlington, too, is moving to paid parking starting July 1, when a $1-an-hour fee will apply to all public parking spaces. As well, meters will be installed on Brant St., where free parking has been the norm.

The decision to expand paid parking to the entire downtown, Burlington officials say, will help pay for 950 new parking spaces – including a second parking garage.

Back in Mississauga, city officials not only have plans to charge for street parking, but to get into the parking revenue business in a much bigger way. Mississauga council earlier this year passed a resolution authorizing the purchase of about 100 pay-and-display machines, similar to Toronto's solar-powered models, for $1.5 million.

About half will be installed on streets around city hall, said Michael Flanigan, a senior official in the transportation department who heads the city's newest revenue-generating venture.

One reason behind the choice is the massive intensification taking place along Hurontario St. and around city hall, near Square One shopping centre. More than 40,000 people are expected to move into the area as condo and highrise apartment towers go up, while the city has less and less land available for housing subdivisions.

"I'm sure (residents) will adjust to it," said Flanigan. "There's been ample convenient parking for quite some time but as densities increase and there's more demand for available spaces, then there becomes a need to manage."

The new meters are only the beginning. A study is underway on the feasibility of building off-street surface parking lots or garages around the city centre that would be city-managed, a first for the municipality.

Meters not used downtown will replace aging coin-operated meters in Port Credit. Only then will a broader city-wide strategy be rolled out, Flanigan said.

Next door, Brampton is already into parking in a big way. Hourly rates in the core are set to increase by 50 per cent, to $1.50. It already operates three downtown garages, with about 1,200 spaces, and plans more.

With files from the Hamilton Spectator

 

[Ummagumma66]

actually the Meter rates for Calgary are $4.00/Hr Mon-Fri and .75 on Sat. but Calgary is going to go a new system called ALTpay, ot will replace all the meters in the core (for now) and relpace them with ticket-spitter type machines that will allow you to pay with Coin, Credit Card and Cell Phone, the system is simular to London, UK, in which the Calgary Parking Authority will monitor how long you can park in the core, to a two hour max, it too will eliminate all so-call free zones, if you chose not to pay for parking your car is photographed be a Survey Car equipped with the autochalk system (I believe Calgary is the only juristiction in North America to use it) and the photo along with a tag is mailed to you.

 

[Degnaw]

Cincinnati's amount of parking is ridiculously high . . . just look at this map! (this is off-street public parking only, in addition to normal on-street parking on both sides of every street). As for costs, many places are free on weekends or Sundays and otherwise run in the $0.50 per hour range for meters.

 

[Ummagumma66]

Here is some more information from http://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/calgary/

Calgary Parking Meter System, Canada
Calgary Parking Authority (CPA) is to launch a new pay and display parking meter system in 2007 to replace the outmoded mechanical parking meters that cause so many problems.

CALGARY'S PARKING PROBLEMS
Parking in Calgary will no longer involve a mad dash to feed the meter with coins as time runs out. Instead drivers will be able to pay by using a mobile phone (by knowing the identification number of the area in which they are parked) or over the internet with a credit card or with cash if they prefer.

"Drivers will be able to pay by using a mobile phone, over the internet with a credit card or with cash."The system will mean that no more tickets are issued on windscreens for parking offences, instead parking officials will input licence plate numbers during their rounds and at the end of the shift the CPA computer will decide whether the vehicles were registered as having paid and if not they will be sent a ticket in the mail.

The new system has been estimated to cost $5m and will significantly reduce the frustration attached to parking in Calgary.

The system means that upon parking a driver may pay at the pay and display machine by whatever means he chooses (and display the receipt on the dash) but also if the ticket runs out of time before they have returned they can set up a virtual system on their mobile phone to pay extra and extend their parking time without having to return to their vehicle.

PARKING METER SYSTEM INSTALLATION
The parking authority is due to start installing the new machines in early 2007. There will be a trial roll out on a few streets to iron out any bugs in the system and then the full roll out will be completed by the third quarter of 2007.

The machines installed are currently being tested and will either be Parkline 3000 machines from Dambach or Stelio machines from Parkeon Inc.

The requirements for the machines is that they be robust to stand up to the Calgary winter, modular so that the parking system can be modified, solar powered so that powering them is not a problem, and plug and play so that the system network of machines can be easily set up and require the minimum of maintenance.

Another change being made by the CPA is due to the fact that Canadian cars are getting smaller the set parking stalls along the street are to be removed so that more cars can squeeze into a block as they will not be restricted as to where a meter is situated.

AUTOMATED TYRE-CHALKING SYSTEM
The tyre-chalking system being introduced by the CPA is an automated system for determining parking violations. It is a response to residents and business owners who have time-restricted or residential parking zones near their homes or businesses. If a vehicle is illegally parked in these zones the CPA need to respond and fine the offender.

"The parking authority is due to start installing the new machines in early 2007."With the autoChalk system, cameras mounted on an enforcement vehicle communicate with a laser and Global Positioning System (GPS) to capture digital photos of vehicles in violation of time-limited parking zones.

The technology allows enforcement officers to remain in their vehicle while collecting photos of vehicles in violation and their license information.

A second officer in the enforcement vehicle verifies that the vehicle in question is illegally parked and a violation ticket is then issued.

Data captured by the autoChalk system is then downloaded to the CPA network, the registered owner is identified and a violation ticket is mailed to the recipient. The violation ticket will contain photo information that provides clear evidence of the parking infraction.

The fine amount remains at $50 for parking in excess of a posted time limit in a residential community. The trial will be operated in areas where business owners and residents have expressed concerns about overtime parking such as LRT stations and other high-traffic areas around educational institutions and hospitals.
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the other reason is because of the vandalism to the city meters which has reached near epidemic proportions. I dunno if its the same in Toronto, but here the homeless have been able to jam the meters with paper, allowing them to pull out the money later, they have take the city for hundreds of thousands of dollars.