WATCH ABOVE: Drivers upset with Calgary Parking Authority spot sale. Tony Tighe reports.
CALGARY – Ryan Bernier rents a monthly parking spot downtown Calgary for $275 per month. It’s a lot of money, so he was interested to learn that spots in his lot were going to be offered for $50 less over the summer.
But he soon found out there were some strings attached: If he applied for the discount, he would lose his permanent yearly spot. To make matters worse, his rate is increasing to $290 as of July 1.
“It seems a little weird that, yeah, supply is up, demand is down—they’re increasing the price of the lot yet they’re discounting spaces temporarily in the lot,” said Bernier.
Fewer drivers park downtown during the summer, so the CPA is turning some of the hourly or daily parking spaces into monthly reserved spots. The summer sale is for June, July and August and the discounts range from 25 to 35 per cent, depending on the lot.
The sale is available at the following locations:
| Lot | Address | Regular Price/Month* | Discount | Discounted Price/Month* |
| 6 (Louise Bridge Surface Lot) | 311 – 8 St. SW | $275.00 | 20% | $220.00 |
| 25 (City Centre parkade) | 340 – 10 Ave. SW221 – 9 Ave. SW | $390.00 | 25% | $292.50 |
| 28 (McDougall parkade) | 720 – 5 Ave. SW | $380.00 | 30% | $266.00 |
| 36 (City Hall parkade) | 322 – 9 Ave. SE | $340.00 | 25% | $255.00 |
| 54 (Centennial parkade) | 608 – 9 Ave. SW823 – 5 St. SW | $470.00 | 35% | 305.50 |
Bernier can save $50 per month, but as an existing monthly parker, he would lose his spot if he switched.
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“They’d only be able to get the monthly sales for those three months, and then after that time they’d have to go back on the waiting list for what our yearly contracts are,” said CPA general manager Mike Derbyshire.
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The parking authority argues Bernier’s rate is already 15 to 20 per cent below the competition at private lots, but Bernier still doesn’t think it’s fair.
“They should also be offering a discount—to be fair—offering it to the monthly parkers, as well,” he said, adding new parkers are being rewarded at the expense of existing monthly customers.
Drivers who are on the parking authority’s waiting list for a monthly spot can qualify for the summer sale without losing their place in line.
For more information on the CPA’s sale, click here.
With files from Erika Tucker
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