Parking in city-owned spots in Edmonton is going to change starting May 1, with fees rising in a handful of spots, operating hours extending and dozens of paid spots converting to free parking in low-demand areas.
Edmonton city council approved changes to parking fees during budget deliberations in December.
According to a news release Wednesday, the fee to park at city-owned spots on Rice Howard Way, 104 Street between Jasper Avenue and Rogers Place and 103 Street between 102 and 103 Avenue will go from $3.50 to $4.50 an hour.
“The new pricing rate is competitive with rates for surface private parking lots, which charge between $4.00 to $6.00 an hour,” said the city, adding pricing at lower demand areas will remain at $1 to $2.50 an hour.
Sarah Casault, a senior hair stylist at a hair salon on Rice Howard Way, said the increase will impact customer wallets.
“Twenty-five cents, maybe 50 cents, but a whole dollar? That can be a lot for people who are coming here constantly,” said Casault.
“I think that might discourage people from coming to this area which is not what we want … as a business,” she said.
Operating hours will be extended to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and paid parking will now be in effect on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting May 1.
Ward O-day’min Coun. Anne Stevenson said the changes are all about ensuring drivers aren’t hogging spaces.
“Typically what we find is when parking isn’t regulated, or there’s no charge for parking, people will park and stay there for a really long time. So that actually decreases the availability of parking; it means that there isn’t turnover so that other customers can’t be coming to access businesses,” Stevenson said.
Thirteen new EPark zones will be created starting June 1: three zones in the 124 Street area, five zones in the Old Strathcona area, two zones in the Kingsway area and three in downtown.
The 30-minute period of free parking that allowed for drop-off and pick-up will be adjusted to 15 minutes, the city said.
Paid parking will be converted to free two- or three-hour parking in 68 zones due to low demand, according to the city.
These low-demand spots include some along Jasper Avenue between 109 and 118 Street and a concentration of spots in Chinatown, among others.
“In those areas, the fee for parking wasn’t in line with the demand in that area, so that’s not serving anyone. That just means parking is going underutilized for no good reason,” said Stevenson.
Enforcement will be eased until May 15 to allow drivers to adjust to the changes, according to the city.