While the issue isn’t new to Regina, it’s been gaining attention on social media. Many residents say it’s time for the city to modernize and do away with coin-operated parking meters once and for all.
“Having a meter that you can top up using a phone or credit cards and stuff online can definitely help,” one Regina resident said.
As part of a pilot project in 2015, the city did install some parking meters on 11th Avenue and later on Broad Street that accept credit cards, but has yet to make the switch completely.
“I think we’re behind the times here,” Coun. Andrew Stevens said. “I think we can actually improve the customer service and resident relations with the city if we start looking at new technology and really boosting our strategy by actually making it easier to park downtown.”
Stevens added new parking technology could also help to reduce the number of parking tickets.
“I think it really does jeopardize the relationship between residents and visitors and the city when their experience is actually getting a ticket, it’s frustrating,” he said. “There is a reason for it, it fits in the overall parking strategy, but I think we can look at technology and we can actually look at a better interface to improve that relationship.”
In 2015, Saskatoon implemented its new FlexParking stations, which allow drivers to pay via credit card and now an app.
“There was definitely a drop in revenue during the immediate switch over people were used to the coin-based system and it took a while for the culture to change,” City of Saskatoon community services general manager Randy Grauer said. “It took about a year now they’re trending significantly higher.”
Grauer said the city went from more than 2,000 coin-operated parking meters to about 300 pay stations.
“It’s a much more efficient system to operate,” he explained. “It makes it easier to come downtown, it makes it easier to park downtown and in fact one of the best features is if I purchase an hours worth of parking and I’m only in one spot for half-an-hour I can move to another meter and I can move around and do several errands on one purchase.”
While other major cities made the switch years ago, the City of Regina said in a written statement, it has no plans to change meters in the immediate future.
“The city is committed to improving customer service and payment options for parking meters in the downtown, but there are no plans to change meters in the immediate future. We continue to explore parking technologies to make meter payment convenient for residents. This may include technologies such as more credit card capable meters and pay-by-phone,” City of Regina director of community services Laurie Shalley wrote in a statement.