Parking in the City of Windsor is going to get more expensive should proposed changes in the 2025 budget be approved by council.
Proposed changes to the fee structure for city owned parking lots, meters, and garages include increases for hourly and monthly rates, extended meter enforcement from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and eliminating the first hour of free parking.
Administration projects the increases to bring in approximately $807,910 in annual revenue.
Ward 3 councillor Renaldo Agostino says while he understands the need to raise revenues to keep taxes down, he doesn't think the proposed changes are the way forward.
"I think there's a better way to do this, and I've been talking about taking our parking digitally so that we can have certain areas where you got to pay until 12 a.m., but certain areas in the same proximity where parking could be free. I think switching to a full-time app would give us the ability to have that, potentially raising even more revenue than just moving thee parking to 9 p.m."
He says that he expects this to be a contentious issue.
"There's a good segment of society that really doesn't care about paying for the privilege of parking in the right spaces and not wanting to walk 100 feet to their destination, but there's also a lot of people that do want to park for free."
Agostino says getting rid of parking meters and going digital would give residents options.
"I think that's what direction of city is moving in, is giving their residents options, and those options will find ways to keep taxes low, but also raise revenues and find a happy middle ground that will be able to accomplish what you're looking to do, and what we're looking to do is raise more revenue, but still give our consumers, which is the general public, give them options. I think there's a way out of this."
Proposed fee increases include:
Hourly Rates:
- Meters: Increase by $0.25 to $2.25 per hour.
- Garages/Lots: Increase by $0.25 to $2.00 per hour.
- This would bring about $200,000 more revenue annually.
Monthly Rates:
- Garages: Increase by 3%, from $110 to $113.30 per month.
- Lots: Increase by 3%, from $66-$99 to $67.98-$101.97 per month.
- This would bring about $35,500 more revenue annually
Increased Meter Enforcement:
- Extend enforcement from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Expected to bring in an additional $400,000 annually.
Flat Fees in Lots (6pm to Midnight):
- Increase the flat fee from $3 to $5, bringing in around $103,660 more revenue.
- Introduce a $5 fee in some lots, adding about $10,000 more revenue.
- Increase all-day fee in one lot from $5 to $10, adding around $58,750 more revenue.
Eliminate 1st Hour Free Parking:
- Expected to increase revenue, but exact amount is hard to predict.
City council will hear from delegations on the 2025 budget as a whole on Jan. 13.
Council will then meet to deliberate the proposed budget on Jan. 27, with any additional rounds of deliberations scheduled, as required, between Jan. 28 and Feb. 3, 2025.