Parking meter rate increases today

REGINA – Motorists will have to pop in a toonie, up from a loonie, for an hour of city parking starting today.

The city says that as the cost of providing service goes up, the rate does too.

“The fees increase that we have had are not out of line with other cities, and indeed, they’re fairly economical,” said Mayor Michael Fougere on Thursday.

An hour of municipal parking will now cost the same as it does in Saskatoon. Comparatively, Vancouver’s parking meter rate runs between $1-6 per hour while St. John’s is $1.50 an hour.

“My friends from Saskatoon commented on how cheap it was to park here on the weekend. They were just blown away,” said Janelle Baumet, general manager for downtown’s Vintage Vinyl & Hemp Emporium this afternoon.

She said that the rate was inexpensive before, so she doesn’t see the hike significantly affecting the store.

“We definitely have our regulars that come in every morning, loyally look through the records, look through the t-shirts, so I think that they’ll still make the trek down here despite the parking increase,” said Baumet.

Across the street, Noel Wente, co-owner of downtown’s clothing store Norwood, said he sees two camps in the parking rate increase debate: those who don’t mind forking over the extra loonie, and those already hesitant over making the journey downtown.

“Something like this could be the final nail in the coffin for them,” said Wendt of the latter.

Keeping the store open late several days of the week (when parking is free), and having loyal customers will help with the transition. But fewer people parking downtown, means fewer people walking around, he added.

“Our issue is with foot traffic. A lot of retail stores rely on foot traffic and people wandering in and stuff like that,” said Wendt.