The Calgary Parking Authority is defending themselves against claims from the Calgary Downtown Association that the parking system in the city is the main deterrent to doing business downtown.
“Simply that is not true,” said Dale Fraser, the parking authority’s general manager.
“We want to ask them to stop pointing the finger at downtown parking.”
The parking authority released a poll yesterday showing Calgarians are generally happy with the new, high-tech ParkPlus system.
Fraser said the poll showed 75 per cent of people happy with the system.
He said the highest satisfaction came from people with cellphone accounts — at 97 per cent.
Those people are able to pay through an account accessed by their cell- phone.
Sixty-three per cent of Calgarians surveyed said ParkPlus was better than the old parking meter system.
Fraser also said CPA revenues and tickets are up, but that Calgarians are getting $150,000 back a month through their cell phone accounts.
Further improvements to the system are expected in 2010 including upgrades to the cellphone account system.
