Overnight street parking rules are back on the agenda at city hall.
Just a couple years after the last revision, Councillor Shawn Lewis is asking for a staff report on additional changes.
”I haven't met a can of worms yet that I'm afraid to open if there is a reason to revisit something.”
In 2016, then-councillor Jared Zaifman pushed to loosen overnight street parking rules, and ultimately Londoners received 15 free street parking permits that could be used outside of the summer months.
Currently, most neighbourhoods can park overnight on the street from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
But Lewis would prefer April 1st to Oct. 31st saying, "To have that ban that long, really to me it kind of comes down to a cash grab.”
He rejects warnings in staff reports to previous councils that there would be a steep decline in revenue from parking tickets.
"It’s a step that a previous council had looked at doing, but came down to they didn't want to lose the revenue. Well, parking shouldn’t be about revenue generating.”
Lewis says near-campus neighbourhoods would continue with their current parking restrictions to curb student parking, but he would like to give Londoners the option to purchase street parking passes in addition to the 15 they receive for free.
Council could also consider extending the 12-hour limit on parking in a specific spot to 18 hours, and repealing a bylaw forbidding cars parked sideways on the skirt of the driveway between the driveway and road.
Lewis says the growth in secondary rental units in homes, and intergenerational families under one roof, results in more vehicles in driveways.
“We should, in my opinion, give as much flexibility as we can to park around their home as long as it’s not impeding other people’s use of the road.”
Lewis’ letter seeking a staff report will be discussed at city hall’s Civic Works Committee meeting on Tuesday.
