City finally OKs overnight-parking project

[ldoto]

After years of debate, London residents will finally get to park overnight on city streets — until Labour Day at least.

Council approved Monday night a pilot project allowing cars and motorcycles, but not commercial vehicles, mobile homes or trailers, to park up to 12 hours overnight.

The new parking rules take effect today.

City staff will review the results of the pilot project and report back on a possible overnight-permit system to council in the fall.

The ban on overnight parking in summer has long frustrated residents who have been ticketed on their own streets, or penalized for leaving their cars downtown to avoid drinking and driving.

Other residents oppose overnight parking, saying residential streets will become parking lots, especially in student neighbourhoods.

[MolsonExport]

Amazing. What a group. Such a simple thing, getting bogged down in useless debates.

[manny_santos]

Amazing. What a group. Such a simple thing, getting bogged down in useless debates.

Yeah, this should've been done years ago without a whimper. As I said to Roger Caranci recently, certain other members of council are making us the laughingstock of Kitchener-Waterloo.

[QuantumLeap]

I'm sure Roger agreed wholeheartedly

[go_leafs_go02]

I'd rather have no parking overnight rather than the disaster on-street parking does in Hamilton during the winter.

However, I'm fine with it in the summer. 12 Hours is great I think.

[ldoto]

wrong post!!!!:shrug:

[ldoto]

Tue, September 29, 2009

Politicians at London city hall have endorsed changes that would extend free, temporary parking from beyond downtown to Richmond Row and the Old East Village.

The city's environmental and transportation committee recommended Monday night that two hours of free parking would be allowed in all three areas on Saturdays and the month of December.

If the measures are adopted by council next week, that would give core-area merchants more of an equal footing with suburban malls during the all-important holiday retail season — a break merchant associations have been calling for.

But a push to make those breaks permanent split the committee: In favour were councillors Roger Caranci, Judy Bryant and Cheryl Miller while opposing were controllers Gord Hume and Gina Barber and Coun. Paul Hubert — Hume argued it wouldn't be prudent without knowing the implications for city operations.

The temporary break for downtown merchants was opposed by the city's parking department, which argued it would rob them of needed revenue — free downtown parking for two hours on Saturday will cost the city about $120,000, staff said, an estimate that didn't include Richmond Row and the Old East Village.




City coffers wouldn't take the only hit — politicians also endorsed hiking the fine for parking at an expired metre from $15 to $20 and raising the rates to park in a city lot, measures supported by the merchants. City staff argued the change was warranted after about a decade without increases to fines.

[ldoto]

Londoners will be able to park for free for two hours Saturdays and during the month of December in downtown, Richmond Row and the Old East Village.

City council last night approved the free parking to give merchants there an equal footing with suburban mall retailers during the all-important holiday retail season — a break merchant associations have been calling for.

The temporary break for core merchants was opposed by the city's parking department, which argued it would rob them needed revenue — free downtown parking for two hours on Saturday will cost the city about $120,000, staff said, an estimate that didn't include Richmond Row and the Old East Village.

City coffers wouldn't take the only hit — politicians also hiked the fine for parking at an expired meters from $15 to $20 and raised the rates to park in a city lot, measures supported by the merchants.

City staff argued the change was warranted after about a decade without increases to fines.

[ldoto]

Update!!!
Free two hour parking returns in downtown London today for the entire month of December.

City Hall has allowed the free parking in the downtown core in previous years but has expanded the offer this year. Starting today, you'll also be able to park for free for two hours in the Old East village.

The move will cost the city about $120,000 dollars in lost revenue but is aimed at sparking interest in shopping downtown.

A RBC survey says half of Canadians plan to spend less during the holidays this year, but the majority expect the country's economy to look up in 2010.

Forty-seven per cent of people surveyed said they plan to tighten their belts over the holiday period, and 18 per cent said they will not buy any gifts at all.

The RBC survey found 62 per cent of those surveyed expected the economy to improve once the new year rolls around.

The survey of about 1,000 Canadians was conducted between Nov. 9 and 16. A survey of this size is accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

[manny_santos]

Update!!!
Free two hour parking returns in downtown London today for the entire month of December.

City Hall has allowed the free parking in the downtown core in previous years but has expanded the offer this year. Starting today, you'll also be able to park for free for two hours in the Old East village.

The move will cost the city about $120,000 dollars in lost revenue but is aimed at sparking interest in shopping downtown.

A RBC survey says half of Canadians plan to spend less during the holidays this year, but the majority expect the country's economy to look up in 2010.

Forty-seven per cent of people surveyed said they plan to tighten their belts over the holiday period, and 18 per cent said they will not buy any gifts at all.

The RBC survey found 62 per cent of those surveyed expected the economy to improve once the new year rolls around.

The survey of about 1,000 Canadians was conducted between Nov. 9 and 16. A survey of this size is accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

This is especially good news during the London Transit strike.

[MolsonExport]

A-M de C-B is now the longest-serving mayor in London's history.

Is there anybody else who likes to take credit for good things (she was ubiquitous yesterday for that announcement about the cargo aerogate thingy) and hide away from bad things (transit strike, shittiness of economy and infrastructure, drunken sod of a husband), as much as her worship?

Snark? I know you are out there!!!

[ldoto]

The sun may rise again on overnight street parking in London during the summer.

In a move some politicians say will leave Londoners starry-eyed, councillors Monday revived the issue -- scrapped during 2010 budget talks -- and recommended lifting the city's overnight parking ban again this summer.

"This is one of those (issues) that I say is a no-brainer," said Coun. Roger Caranci, who chairs council's environment and transportation committee, which passed the motion.

The city offered a pilot project last summer that lifted the parking ban, from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. It cost about $140,000 in lost revenue but was well received, politicians say.

But, when coupled with two other free-parking initiatives in the 2010 budget, council voted not to continue the summertime offering this year.

With a political sleight-of-hand, though, the issue is back on the table.

Coun. Judy Bryant was praised by colleagues for bringing it back up, but her call to look into offering paid passes during the summer was considered too complex.

Instead, some ETC members wanted to again offer the parking for free -- but because it had previously been defeated, they would first need council to vote to give the issue "re-consideration."

But Monday night's motion simply tweaked the dates -- moving the start from Victoria Day weekend to the Monday before it, and the end from Labour Day to the Tuesday after it -- to avoid that step.

"It'll be a whole new policy," Caranci said.

Committee member Bud Polhill predicts the move will pass before full city council next week, considering the negative feedback he says many politicians received after scrapping the idea during budget talks.

Coun. Cheryl Miller, long outspoken in her efforts to have the overnight restriction lifted during the summer, offered a familiar argument, noting the plan could cut down on impaired driving.

Not everyone, however, is over the moon.

Coun. Nancy Branscombe, whose Ward 6 includes the University of Western Ontario, said while she's all for helping people to park on streets more often, a "one-size-fits-all" plan won't work there.

"In my area we (already) have parking issues all the time," she said, noting she was prepared to support Bryant's original suggestion, to sell permits.

Branscombe also took umbrage with Miller, accusing the veteran politician of insulting, in a radio interview, those councillors who voted against overnight street parking in the budget.

"I don't appreciate being called a 'blockhead' on the air," Branscombe said.

[manny_santos]

Allowing overnight parking in all parts of the city, including UWO, is a good idea. No matter what some Western students would like to believe, not everyone who lives in the area are students. Everyone should be able to park on the street overnight in order to be able to avoid having to stay overnight and not drive home impaired.

[ldoto]

The debate over overnight parking in London was heated, but that may amount to peanuts compared to a jumbo of a fight looming over whether taxpayers should partner with developers to build a parking garage in downtown London.

Tuesday, the head of a development interest is expected to make a pitch to members of the city's downtown parking working group.

It won't be the first -- two years ago, city hall was approached by three of downtown London's largest developers: Farhi Holdings Corp., the Tricar Group and Sifton Properties Ltd.

But this time the pitch will be made with a civic election only six months away, a point made by advocates of a garage Monday at city hall.

"We've been dancing around this for four years," Coun. Cheryl Miller said to colleagues on city council's environment and transportation committee.

"There is a call for a parking garage," Coun. Roger Caranci added.

Their comments came as politicians heard from Londoner Don Blay, who was upset because the private company that manages most of the parking lots downtown, Impark, had jacked up its rates for one lot by 60%, from $7.50 to $12.50, for daytime parking.

Impark also manages lots under city hall and Covent Garden Market.

Controller Bud Polhill blamed the big jump in prices on what he described as a near-monopoly of the parking lot market in downtown London.

"When you allow one company to provide all the parking, there's no competition," Polhill said.

One way to counter that is for the city to compete by helping to build a parking garage, Caranci said, With an election approaching, it's about time council does something, Miller said.

"Parking downtown is drying up," she said.

That contention is one that's been much disputed in the past with some on council and a group of developers whose buildings include parking. Both argued taxpayers shouldn't subsidize a parking garage to benefit a select group of developers who bought buildings on the cheap, knowing they lacked parking on site.

A consultant hired by the city found then that each spot in a parking garage would generate $1,200 a year, far short of the $5,000 needed to break even, leaving taxpayers to pay the rest of the tab.

Advocates of a parking garage have suggested a number of sites that might work, including the northwest corner of King and Clarence streets, where there's a surface parking lot owned by a consortium of leading business people and developers

[manny_santos]

I was originally not convinced that a parking garage was needed downtown, but there is a need for greater competition with Impark, so I think it has merit.