Motorists heading to downtown Montreal will soon be hard-pressed to find free parking.
The city announced Friday that it will be modifying the schedules for its parking meters to extend the hours they are in use.
Starting on November 15, motorists parking on the street will have to feed the metres between 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays. Sundays won’t change with paid parking from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The changes affect five sections of the Ville-Marie borough ranging from Guy Street in the west to St-Hubert in the east; Sherbrooke Street to the North and de la Commune and Mill streets to the south.
The city had sought to implement the changes earlier this April but hit the pause button after backlash from the opposition.
At the time, Ensemble Montréal leader Aref Salem accused the Plante administration of trying to “pull a fast one on Montrealers,” stating the schedule for parking meters was buried in more than 1,800 pages of budgetary documents.
This time around, the city said the decision to move ahead was made after consulting with stakeholders.
“We took the time to meet with our partners in the downtown and to present our objectives and listen to their feedback,” said Sophie Mauzerolle, the city’s executive committee member responsible for transportation and mobility.
After the discussions, the city agreed to increase the maximum allowed duration for payment from three to five hours, to allow people “to fully enjoy their activities.”
In a news release announcing the changes, Mauzerolle went on to explain that the new hours would better match the opening hours of the different stores and cultural venues in the area.
The measure aims to increase not only the rotation of people coming to the area but also the availability of parking spaces.
Salem, however, remains critical.
He believes the extended hours will have a negative impact on the city’s cultural activities and will especially hurt restaurateurs.
“That’s gonna hit on the people that go to the restaurant because that is the only business that stays open up to 11 or 12 o’clock,” he said.
“So we are hitting on one category of the people… and businesses that today they are in need of help and with this measure, we are no helping them at all.”
The move is expected to bring in an extra $5 million per year.