WINNIPEG, MB - July 5, 2012 - The Public Service is recommending changes to increase the availability of on-street parking downtown.
Proposed 'increased meter rate areas' in the downtown and Exchange District areas aim to generate turnover of the high demand on-street spaces to make room for additional customers and visitors to the area. A map outlining the streets included in the high demand zone is available.
The basic pricing principle for generating this turnover is that on-street parking should be more expensive over the longer term than off-street parking. A vacancy rate of 15 per cent will allow nine out of 10 motorists to find on-street parking within three blocks of their destination without having to circle and look for an open space.
Meter rates in the high demand rate areas will increase from $1 to $2 per hour.
Demand based pricing pilot projects were previously instituted at St. Boniface General Hospital and the Health Sciences Centre. Data collected between 2008 and 2010 demonstrated that an increased meter rate in a high demand area had the desired effect of generating turnover by influencing long-term parkers to use off-street facilities.
The Parking Authority consulted with affected stakeholders throughout the summer of 2011 prior to the determination of meter rate changes. The Parking Authority also engaged with the public at an open house and through the posting of the presentation on the City's website. Public feedback was solicited through an online survey that was available for a two week period.
Data gathered during evening events in the area of the proposed 'Sports, Hospitality and Entertainment District' (SHED) showed that large numbers of vehicles were parking at 5:30 p.m. when events were scheduled and remaining in place the entire evening, preventing patrons of businesses not associated with the event from finding short-term on-street parking within this area. As such, the Public Service is recommending the creation of an evening metered parking zone with payment extended to 8:30 p.m., with the rate set at the indicated daytime rate for the zone in which the meter is located.
A map outlining the streets included in the evening metered parking zone is available.
The Public Service is also recommending amendments to the Parking Meter By-Law which will prohibit the practice of re-metering, resulting in a maximum time a vehicle may be parked in a metered space of two hours in most of the downtown and Exchange District and four hours in the vicinity of St. Boniface Hospital and the Health Sciences Centre. Mobile food vendors who hold a valid mobile food vendor license under the Doing Business in Winnipeg By-Law will be specifically exempted from this restriction.
The report also recommends a yearly review of the high demand zone rates, as part of the Winnipeg Parking Authority's annual business planning process.
Council approval is required before the Public Service can implement the recommendations in the report.
The Alternate Service Delivery Committee will consider the report at its meeting on July 6, 2012.