The City of St. John’s continues to tweak its 2018 paid parking strategy, trying to find that financial sweet spot.
Council’s Committee of the Whole has endorsed a reduction in commercial permit rates, expanding the paid parking program, and adding a new long-stay rate on Harvey and Ricketts roads.
The changes will go before a full vote of council next week.
It’s all in an effort to attract drivers to the city’s parking options, although staff state they’re “not in direct competition with private lots.”
Revenue from parking is a big deal for municipalities, and St. John’s is no exception, which is why the strategy was adopted six years ago.
City staff say rates must be set at a level that “ensures utilization of city resources.”
But deputy city manager Jason Sinyard acknowledges times and habits have been changing.
“There’s been a fundamental shift in how people are parking downtown, and the uptake on those (commercial) lots, and there’s a lot of vacancies,” he said. “We’re trying to find the right price point to get those lots better utilized. This, here, is an approach that we hope will work, but if it doesn’t and there’s still no uptake on these lots—could be a question is the price still not right—or is there simply no demand which council can turn its attention to what would be a better use for any of these lots.”
Details on the proposed parking rate changes, and locations, is available on the city’s website.
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