Edmonton could charge fees for half of all park-and-ride spots

Big changes could be coming to the city's four LRT park-and-ride lots in September. Some spaces that are currently free could come with a fee, and existing paid reserved spots could get more expensive.

City staff are recommending that Edmonton Transit charge for up to half of all park-and-ride stalls at Clareview, Belvedere, Stadium and Century Park lots. The recommendations are in a report going to council's transportation committee this week.

Staff also recommend raising the price for a reserved stall by 25 per cent to $50 per month to take advantage of the ever-growing demand.

Wait lists for reserved stalls at park and ride lots currently range from 149 people at Stadium to 3,540 at Century Park.

The city also plans to experiment with charging hourly rates for 10 stalls at each lot to test demand.

The plan was proposed to deal with overcapacity in the lots, and the cost of maintaining them.

According to a city report released Thursday, all city-run park-and-ride lots fill up by 7 a.m., and cost nearly $800,000 per year to maintain.

The report said there is no perfect solution to the park-and-ride problem in Edmonton. While creating more paid stalls will reduce the number of tax dollars spent maintaining the lots, it will also make transit less affordable and won't help with parking supply.

It may also encourage more people to park in adjacent neighbourhoods, according to the report. 

But, the city says, building more parking spaces is at odds with its goal of encouraging development around LRT stations.

The plan goes before the transportation committee Tuesday. If approved, it would come into effect Sept 1.

The plan would generate $1.2 million per year for the city, which would more than cover the cost of maintaining the lots. 

Meanwhile, Northlands also started offering reserved spots for park-and-ride transit users. Starting July 1, Northlands will charge $75 per month to use its parking lot, close to the Coliseum LRT station.