LONDON, ONT. -- A pitch is being made to further loosen the rules on overnight street parking in London.

Councillor Shawn Lewis tells CTV News that next week he’ll push to start the overnight parking period earlier in the spring, and have it end later in the fall.

Lewis wants to permit overnight parking between May 1 and October 31, rather than the current reprieve that extends from Victoria Day weekend to Labour Day.

“The odd snowfall that occurs in October could be addressed by a public service announcement.”

He would like the change in place before this May.

Based on 2019 figures, extending the on-street parking period would result in about 4,500 fewer fines, costing city hall about $181,000.

“People feel like this is punitive, that it’s a cash grab,” says Lewis, “We don't even have snowplows under contract until November first, so if we are not having plows ready to do winter road maintenance, why would we have an overnight parking ban during two months when we don't deploy snowplows?”

The lost revenue could potentially be recouped by increasing the fine by about five dollars.

Lewis intends to bring a motion forward at next week’s Civic Works Committee meeting.

Under the proposed change, Londoners would continue to receive up to 15 free exemptions for each vehicle on nights when snowplowing is not anticipated.