By Rosie Shaw
Centretown residents are parking their cars on their front lawns and foregoing public transit in response to a price-hike on city parking permits implemented late last year.
The trends, created by car-owners who balk at paying the higher permit prices, are just the opposite of what city council intended when it originally introduced the permit plan.
The city increased the price of parking permits from $45 a month to $100 as of Dec. 1, prompting protest from many Centretown residents.
Initially intended to allow downtown residents without driveways or garages to leave their cars at home and take public transit to work, the permits were designed to cut down traffic in an effort to help the environment.
Unfortunately, the new, more expensive permits are having the opposite effect. To deal with this winter’s new fee change, many residents have stopped using public transit.
David Gladstone, president of the Centretown Citizens’ Community Association and a Frank Street resident, says the high prices are pushing people to drive to work, where parking is cheaper or free.
“People are now being dinged an extra 60 bucks for not driving a car to work. That’s the cost of a bus pass,” he says.
The increase in price for the permit is $55 a month, roughly equal to the cost of a monthly adult OC Transpo bus pass, sold for $61.75.
Gladstone says the higher permit fee “encourages the wrong behaviour.”
He also says many residents are “taking their chances” and just not buying permits. He says he hasn’t noticed fewer cars parked on the streets, but he has noticed more cars parked on front lawns.
Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes said last November that she would try again around budget time to get the permit fees reduced.
After losing in the last round of council voting, Holmes says it seems the odds are against council changing its mind.
“There are only a few downtown councillors opposing it,” Holmes says.
Michael Fitzpatrick, Ottawa’s acting manager of public affairs, says increasing user fees, such as parking permits, is one way the city is dealing with the major budget shortfall. These higher fees are seen as an important part of the city’s cutback plans.
“I don’t think you’ll see much change in user fees,” he says.
“We’ve tried to explain . . . why it was put in place,” says Holmes.
The city is trying to avoid raising property taxes while still finding a way to fix the $109 million shortfall.
A Holinshed research group survey released Feb. 8 revealed that 58.9 per cent of Ottawa residents do not support a municipal tax increase.
“We’ve received a lot of complaints at our office here,” says Holmes. She will take these to council in the next round of budget consultations.
The final 2004 city budget will be approved on March 24.
“Even if anything changes, it won’t be until next year,” Fitzpatrick says.
Holmes’ last chance to plead Centretown’s permit case will come in March. This is when city council reviews the draft budget for the last time, taking into account feedback from residents and committees, and makes any final changes.
Holmes hasn’t given up yet. There is still time to make her point heard, she says.
“I don’t know whether or not we will be successful, but it’s worth another try.”