Change is coming to the streets of Ottawa on Nov 15. Altered winter parking regulations were approved by city council at a meeting on Oct. 14, following a recommendation from the transportation committee a week earlier.
Yearly street parking permits, which cost $648, will not change under the new regulations.
However, monthly permits, which cost $59, would drop to $30 for summer months, but would also increase to $140 for winter months.
Besides the fee adjustment, Kevin Wylie, general manager of Ottawa Public Works, also suggested that free parking be issued in five of the City-owned parking garages on nights when parking bans are in effect.
“We feel this is a good alternative for those residents that don’t have another alternative for parking,” Wylie said at the transportation committee meeting.
There are a total of 1,700 parking spaces in the garages, which are located in the Byward Market, city hall, the Glebe, Gloucester and Dalhousie.
Overnight parking bans come into effect when Environment Canada forecasts a snowfall of seven centimetres or more. Street parking on heavy snowfall nights is not allowed between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. from Nov. 15 to April 1, with the exception of permit holders.
All other cars on the street may be towed or ticketed. The overnight parking ban was issued 12 times over the last two years, according to Wylie.
The new fees represent a truer cost in terms of providing year-round maintenance.
“Of that $140 fee, $107 are directly related to additional winter maintenance that has to be provided in the winter parking areas,” Wylie said.
The money collected in the summer months goes towards street sweeping and administrative fees, while in the winter months the fees are put toward snow removal efforts.
“Our approach is very similar to other major municipalities in Canada. There are nuances here and there but by and large our program is consistent with what other municipalities approaches are,” Wylie said.
Wylie also stressed that the City of Ottawa will not be making any profit from this new parking plan. Individuals will save $152 by purchasing an annual parking pass with the new system in place.
The previous parking regulations were put into place in 2002. Three public consultations were held to allow people to give feedback on the proposed changes – eighty-one participants went to those meetings.
Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Diane Deans expressed several concerns about the new regulations at the transit committee meeting.
Her biggest concern was that the three public meetings, held in Britannia, Kanata and Overbrook, did not represent those who live in the downtown core.
“That doesn’t make any sense to me, why would not do a consultation with the people that will be most affected,” Deans said.
Deans also wondered whether or not there was a way to make the transition easier for those affected by the new changes.
The new changes will be put into place on Nov. 15.