Reserved C-Train parking and increased fines go before Calgary council committee
One consideration is making C-Train park-and-ride lots reserved-only parking
Like our chinooks, the issue of parking in Calgary perennially blows in to heat things up.
On Wednesday, a city committee will be tasked with considering whether to make C-Train park-and-ride lots reserved-only parking.
"Making the lots 100 per cent reserved I think is a terrible idea and I think that it goes exactly against our goal — especially in a time of declining ridership — which is to encourage people to take transit," said Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
More revenue options
The city used to charge three dollars per day at the lots, but city council voted to abolish the fees back in 2011.
Nenshi said if the city wants to find a way to raise more revenue, there are options.
"Should we figure out a way to charge people more who live outside of the city limits for parking? Yes we should, because they don't use their property taxes to pay for transit," he said.
"Should we look at demand-based pricing that allows people to use the spots on a daily basis that are not used by the monthly parkers? Absolutely."
Parking fine increases
The committee will also take a look at revisions to Calgary's parking bylaw that will substantially raise fines.
The reason for the increase is to bring Calgary's bylaw in line with the provincial Traffic Safety Act, which raised fines in May of last year.
Under the new rules, a parking ticket that isn't paid early would increase to $68 from $50, while the fine for an abandoned vehicle that isn't paid early would increase to $270 from $200.
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With files from Scott Dippel