City should backtrack on end of free parking at downtown garages, group says
The Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association is hoping the city will reverse course on a decision to eliminate free parking at city-owned parking garages in the area.
Prior to Jan. 1, you used to be able to park for free for one hour in these facilities. But that changed with the flip of the calendar.
The DWBIA says paid parking, along with a plan to raise on-street parking rates by 25 cents an hour later this year, will act as a deterrent for people to visit the area.
It argues that the elimination of the one hour of free parking hurts people who live downtown.
The group says it's also a letdown for people attending various downtown events, as the hour of free parking used to be an added bonus for them.
It has started an online petition in a bid to get the city to rescind this action.
Larry Horwitz, the chair of the DWBIA board, said the move has upset many people who live and work in downtown.
"They're very upset, they're angry. They feel the city [is] starting again to do the things that make downtown less progressive, less attractive for business, for residents," he told CBC News on Friday.
"We're not doing what other cities do in the world that are progressive, that are pedestrian-friendly that want people to actually come downtown."
'What are you people doing?'
Bob Williams is the executive director of the Windsor Pride Community, Education & Resource Centre, which is located on Pelissier Street near one of the city-owned garages where the free parking has been phased out.
He said that the free parking available at that garage was a factor when his organization is planning meetings and other events.
"Being able to offer an hour of free parking has made a difference in whether we host meetings off-site or whether we host meetings here at the centre," Williams told CBC News in an interview on Friday.
"Being right here in downtown and having people come to the downtown area, it's easy for us to say it, it's easy for us to support it and it's a wonderful opportunity. So it's very important that we look at how we can continue to do this on an ongoing basis."
On a personal level, Williams said he had long touted the advantage of the free parking to many people over the 32 years he has lived in the downtown area.
"I've used the parking garage with guests and friends and for receptions and parties and any time we are meeting to do anything, I'm always talking about the fact that: 'Oh, it's an easy place to be, you can park downtown and park in the garage on the corner and you're going to get an hour free,'" he said.
"And I think people outside the downtown are going to look at us and go: 'What are you people doing?'"
With files from the CBC's Amy Dodge