THUNDER BAY — A member of Thunder Bay city council plans to propose changes in the enforcement of parking meter fees.
McKellar Ward councillor Brian Hamilton said Wednesday he's still working on the details of a motion, but he expects it will call for the current enforcement period of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Monday to Saturday) to be reduced by two to four hours.
"I'm proposing some potential changes to strike a balance between the needs of the business community, the expectations of the public, and the needs of our infrastructure."
Businesses in the community, notably restaurants, have said the new regulations that went into effect last June are having a detrimental impact.
Users of Marina Park have also complained about having to pay to visit the waterfront attraction.
"We kind of ripped the band-aid off with this one," Hamilton said.
While he feels enforcement hours should be scaled back for the time being, he said it's important to foster a sustainable parking system so infrastructure needs can be addressed with revenue.
"I'm just looking specifically at the hours of enforcement in the downtowns, including the Marina, which would offer a little bit more exposure for citizens, and for residents for the downtowns and the marina, but still maintain some of the integrity of that finance plan."
He added "We've had a long tradition of subsidized parking...We've ended up in a bit of a hole, especially through COVID. And we're in a situation in the community right now where we can't subsidize everything. There's certain things that should be a user-pay model."
Hamilton, who owns a coffee shop in the Bay/Algoma area, said he hopes an incremental approach to changes in parking regulations will help promote buy-in from taxpayers.
The city's current plan already calls for monitoring the results through 2025.
"My proposal is just specific to the next year as a temporary measure to support the businesses, and hopefully bring about the culture of actually having a user-pay system for the infrastructure upkeep of our assets...People want to use parks and assets, and take their pets for a walk, and go for walks with their kids. For a long time, we've had that for free. So it's like that kind of entitlement, and changing that kind of culture around, that is going to take a little bit of time."
He said he's discussed his idea with colleagues on council, and has heard from some who would actually like "to go farther" than his motion will, but he feels the majority want to maintain the integrity of the existing plan.
Hamilton's notice of motion will go before council on Nov. 25, and it's expected to be debated on Dec. 9.
