Free parking promo in core business districts hits speed bump at committee

An on-street parking meter in the Old East Village seen on April 29, 2024. (Daryl Newcombe/CTV News London)

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.