Despite backlash from Calgarians on hikes in parking rates, the issue didn’t make it onto council’s agenda yesterday.
Several aldermen and the mayor voted against putting it back on the agenda, leaving council one vote short of the needed 10.
Parking rates recently went up to as much as $5 per hour for street parking, and to $6.50 an hour from $6.00 an hour for city-owned parkades.
Ald. Ray Jones was among those who wanted to see it brought back to the table. He said he could see the issue coming back prior to budget finalization in March.
“I don’t think it’s a done deal,” he said.
“Based on the phone calls we’re getting, there’s not a lot of happy people out there,” he said, adding if the city rates were below market, “we’d have more people parking in our lots.”
Salesman Jamie Moench travels around to downtown Calgary businesses and said not only is it hard to find downtown parking, he often has to wait for a client, which bumps his parking costs up.
“My parking has been upwards of $50 to $60 per day,” Moench said yesterday, adding parking costs are already “extremely expensive.”
