Parking to be pricier in Ville-Marie
Parking downtown and in Old Montreal is to be more expensive and the eligible hours are extended. Item doesn’t say exactly when the new regime begins, just that some bar owners are not happy.
Update: The plan is now on hold.
Kevin 13:13 on 2023-04-15 Permalink
The Gazette piece has more details: starts in two weeks, councillor Sasseville didn’t know about it, and Destination Centreville didn’t know about it either
Spi 16:22 on 2023-04-15 Permalink
A spokesperson for Mayor Valérie Plante’s office said it has asked the parking agency to put the operation on hold. In the meantime, the city will speak with business owners and review the pricing process before making a final decision, said Marikym Gaudreault.
“Our priority is economic vitality and consultation with our partners. In this case, steps have clearly been skipped at the administrative level with the installation of stickers,” she said.
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Am I suppose to believe that the people in charge at l’Agence de mobilité Durable green lighted this without any political feedback? When it’s obvious on its face that this would have political blowback and be controversial.
In principal and as a matter of policy I’m all for increasing the cost of parking closer to what it should be and using pricing power to insure availability of parking to those wanting it the most. At the same time you are systematically increasing/taxing people with limited mobility.
Uatu 16:27 on 2023-04-15 Permalink
Well on the plus side it could mean that more people might use the REM and any increased use especially on evenings and weekends might translate into more money for the thing. I’d be great especially for the folks like me on the shore that are forced into using it.
shawn 16:53 on 2023-04-15 Permalink
I do believe Glenn Castanheira and the city councillor weren’t informed, as they state in the Gazette article. Castanheira is such an advocate for downtown.
Tim 19:04 on 2023-04-15 Permalink
I definitely have taken advantage of the free parking on Sunday mornings. It’s a great time to shop since there are very few people around. Sometimes I’ll get an early lunch. I won’t be doing that in the future if it costs 8-12 dollars for the privilege.
CE 22:11 on 2023-04-15 Permalink
8-12 dollars for a a chunk of prime downtown real estate to store a piece of heavy machinery for half a day sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
Faiz Imam 10:42 on 2023-04-16 Permalink
The only thing that i dont like about this is falt rate pricing all day.
I know it makes it much easier to understand, but the demand for parking doesn’t stay flat like that.
Prices should vary depending on how busy it is, if thats at 10pm we should pay at 10pm.
On the flip side if at 1pm on a monday a area is empty the cost should be less or free.
The point is to optimize the use of a scarce resource.
Also street parking should be more expensive than underground parking, so people are incentivized to seek it out and leave the street for those that are willing to pay for convenience.