Free parking may return to London’s core area business districts
Just weeks after a COVID-era parking promotion ended, a pared-down free parking program may soon launch in its place.
A staff report to council’s Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee recommends offering one hour of free parking via the Honk Mobile App for on-street spots in Downtown London, Richmond Row, and Midtown until the end of this year.
It would cost city hall an estimated $300,000 in mobile app fees and lost revenue.
Similarly, it recommends one hour of free on-street parking plus an hour in Municipal Lot #1 and Municipal Lot #2 in the Old East Village (north of Dundas Street) until Dec. 31 at an additional $30,000 cost.
“It’s time that we start working collaboratively with the city,” said Kevin Morrison of the Old East Village BIA. “This is an investment in our economic development and I think that’s what’s really, really important.”
Since 2021, typing the ‘CORE’ promo code into the Honk Mobile App provided up to two hours of free parking in the core area business districts.
Funding ran out for the pandemic economic recovery program at the end of March.
At ‘Wes the Barber’ in the Old East Village, council’s decision to discontinue the parking incentive, combined with a parking rate increase, has been a one-two punch to clients’ wallets.
“Probably 75 per cent of the clients that end up in my chair used the free parking,” explained Wes Heney. “They’ve walked in asking why doesn’t the code work anymore. It adds an expense on top of the cost of the service they’re already coming in for.”
“We support trying to help those businesses remain in business, but we need to have a long-term plan,” said Mary Ann Hodge of Climate Action London.
Hodge believes as the city grows, the upcoming Mobility Master Plan needs to include alternative ways to get customers to the core business districts that don’t require parking for cars.
“We need to have a long-term plan. We don’t want to keep making these short-term, stop-gap decisions when we should be doing some long-term planning,” she added.
Although the staff report recommends the one-hour free parking incentive conclude at the end of this year, the OEV BIA would like to see that period of time act as a pilot project for a longer-term parking incentive.
“What I would like to see is that the City of London and the economic development department take a look at what other municipalities are doing,” Morrison explained. “I think they’ll be quite surprised at how many do offer great parking incentives and really doesn’t cost that much.”
Heney is even more blunt, “Sure, let’s do a pilot [project], but I don’t think we need a pilot to learn that what they were doing [until March 31] was already working.”
Funding for the free parking promotion would come from an economic development reserve fund.
The CAPS committee will consider the report on Monday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Canadian-Israeli man shot dead in Egypt; claim links killing to Gaza
A Canadian man 'of Jewish Israeli descent' has been shot dead in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in a suspected criminal case, a security source said, while a previously unknown militant group said it carried out the attack in reaction to the war in Gaza.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Bank of Canada says financial system is stable, but risks remain
The Bank of Canada says the Canadian financial system is stable, but risks remain due to debt servicing costs among households and businesses and stretched valuations of financial assets.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.