Free parking promo in core business districts hits speed bump at committee
It will be up to city council to decide if a one-hour free parking promotion returns to the core.
On Tuesday, the Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee considered offering one hour of free parking as an incentive for customers to visit three struggling business districts.
A staff report estimates it would cost $300,000 in Honk Mobile fees and lost revenue to offer one hour of free on-street parking (until Dec. 31) in Downtown London, Midtown, and the Old East Village.
One hour of free parking in Municipal Lot #1 and Municipal Lot #2 in the Old East Village (north of Dundas Street) would add $30,000 to the cost.
Funding for the free parking promotion would come from an economic development reserve fund.
But Coun. Elizabeth Peloza wasn’t convinced, “If local BIAs (Business Improvement Areas) aren’t willing to see the value and put [money] out to help fund some of these programs for their customers, [then] I question why taxpayers across the city should be?”
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.
Coun. Skylar Franke listed examples of free parking that are already available including on Dundas Place on Sundays/evenings, and several parking garages that offer customer parking validation.
“Subsidized parking encourages car dependency and really does not improve or strengthen small businesses, or help us meet our 2030 climate target,” Franke added.
Despite a suggestion to maintain full price parking on Saturdays, the proposal for one-hour free on-street parking failed to receive the committee’s recommendation on a tie vote 2-2.
A free parking promotion for the municipal parking lots in OEV lost by a vote of 1-3.
Downtown Coun. David Ferreira, who suggested a parking token program for core business customers, believes city council will pick up the debate at its meeting on May 14.
“I am hoping that the conversation comes back to council and the full council to make that decision,” said Ferreira after the meeting.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton attacked in prison
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a "major assault."
DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's inflation cools to 3-year low of 2.7%, in boost for rate cut bets
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
'Documents are fraudulent': Graceland is not for sale, Elvis Presley's granddaughter says in lawsuit
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ’n’ roll's former home as collateral was not repaid.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.