PIERREFONDS-ROXBORO – Every morning, Sandy Weigens takes the AMT train line from the Roxboro-Pierrefonds station.
His train arrives at 8 a.m., but he has to be there much earlier.
“If I’m not here in good time, let’s say by 7:15, 7:20 in the morning, there is no parking space to be had,” he said.
The busy train station has around 860 parking spots, but two years ago, the AMT reduced that number.
They launched a controversial pilot project, reserving about 20 per cent of those spaces for paid parking – charging commuters $80 a month on top of their train fare.
READ MORE: Battle for parking at West Island train station getting steamy
Now they’re freeing up about 38 of those reserved spots.
Weigens said it’s a clear sign the project isn’t working.
READ MORE: Parking fees coming to West Island train users
“There simply aren’t that many people willing to cough up almost as much for parking as they are paying for their monthly pass,” he said. “In other words, it seems, I think, that the project is a failure.”
But the AMT isn’t willing to go that far.
According to them, as of July of last year, about two thirds of the paid spaces were being used.
In a statement to Global News, the AMT said: “the occupancy rate of the guaranteed parking spaces in our Roxboro-Pierrefonds parking lot is lower than the spaces available. Therefore, the AMT has decided to reduce the reserved spaces which will allow our customers to use those free spots. Sufficient guaranteed spaces will be maintained so that our subscribers will not be penalized.”
Still, riders we spoke to think there shouldn’t be any reserved spaces at all.
READ MORE: Petition against paid parking at Pierrefonds-Roxboro train station
“They’re trying to encourage us take public transport and then they ask us to pay more to park, so I think they should just get rid of the paid parking,” said a commuter.
Pierrefonds-Roxboro city councillor, Justine Mcintyre, also sees flaws in the AMT’s project and thinks there is room for other solutions.
“I think a solution could be to charge parking rates, a daily rate, and to have it integrated into your pass, so when you buy your OPUS card it also includes a parking pass,” she said.
But until then, it seems commuters will have no choice to either pay up or continue looking for parking.
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