Barrie city council has approved a new municipal parking plan that is aimed at moving the city’s parking reserve from a deficit to a self-sustaining model by 2030.
Under the new strategy, residents will be provided with more options to pay, including smart meters with credit card payment options, a parking app and licence plate recognition technology, which will allow people to obtain digital parking passes.
The new plan will also alter the parking pricing structure to better meet supply and demand by prioritizing on-street parking options, adjusting parking lot pass options and lowering rates at underutilized facilities like the Collier Street parkade, for example.
“We want to ensure that parking in Barrie meets resident and visitor needs with easy-to-find options and convenient payment methods,” Brent Forsyth, Barrie’s transit and parking strategy director, said in a statement.
“We’re changing parking challenges into opportunities with this new plan that will move us into the future.”
The new plan will also improve waterfront parking by considering a pilot shuttle service on summer weekends, implementing seasonal on-street parking to resident waterfront parking pass holders and adjusting seasonal on-street parking restrictions in surround neighbourhoods.
It will ensure parking rates are financially sustainable by adjusting some downtown rates — for example, increasing the hourly rate by 25 cents, the daily rate by $1.50 and by 10 per cent for both monthly and annual passes.
The plan will also investigate the implementation of paid evening parking in the city’s downtown.
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