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Parking rates too low: auditor

Winnipeg Free Press July 7, 2011 | Kives, Bartley City council to vote on changes in fall It costs too little to park on Winnipeg streets compared to surface lots and parkades, the city auditor says in a review of the Winnipeg Parking Authority’s operations. go to site best parking nyc

The City of Winnipeg’s official government watchdog has added its weight to a drive — already underway — to review the city’s on-street parking policy with an eye to raising rates and creating more turnover.

The price of parking on Winnipeg streets is “out of alignment” with the rates in surface lots and parkades, the city auditor says in an operational review of the Winnipeg Parking Authority, a city-owned agency that’s supposed to run like an independent business.

“This price difference can have several significant negative impacts on the overall downtown parking system,” audit manager Bryan Mansky writes in the review, which was approved by council’s executive policy committee on Wednesday.

“First, lower-cost on-street parking can encourage downtown visitors to search for available on-street spaces, increasing traffic congestion and pollution. Second, lower-cost on-street parking can lead to an over-utilization of available on-street parking resources, increasing frustration for downtown visitors and discouraging them from visiting downtown.

“Finally, lower-cost on-street parking can reduce the utilization of off-street resources, making them more difficult to financially support. Ideally, the more convenient on-street parking spaces should be more expensive than the less-convenient off-street spaces.” The auditor’s comments support fee changes proposed by the Winnipeg Parking Authority in its 2011 business plan, which was approved by city council in March.

In an effort to encourage more turnover, the parking authority proposed extending parking hours, boosting fines for common fares and increasing rates for high-demand parking areas such as the Portage Avenue strip, Broadway and the Exchange District portion of Main Street.

The parking authority was ordered to consult with the public and downtown businesses about the changes before returning to council this fall with a final plan to change its policy.

“We agree those recommendations should be implemented and we’re moving forward on them,” Mayor Sam Katz said after EPC accepted the auditor’s report.

“We have people working downtown who are using (one) spot all day long and that’s not what those spots are for,” the mayor said. “I want to make sure we have a constant change so that retail does not suffer. That’s the key thing in the downtown, from my point of view.” Katz said he was disappointed by the Winnipeg Parking Authority’s decision to change policies without notifying the public, suggesting two-hour limits have been compromised by new parking products, such as the pay-by-cellphone parking service.

City auditors also rapped the parking authority for not specifying how far a vehicle must be moved in order to begin a pay period from scratch. They also criticized the special agency for charging above-market rates at the city-owned Millennium Library and Civic Centre parkades, not conducting enough parkade maintenance, not doing enough to safeguard money collected from parking pay stations and allowing parking authority employees to tear up tickets at their discretion.

Katz said he was satisfied with the review but would have liked to see more specific comparisons of city parking rates versus private-sector rates and did not agree with the recommendation to strip parking authority employees of the discretion to tear up tickets. The mayor said he was disappointed the review didn’t mention the authority’s use of consultants.

“There were some areas that I think were completely missed and I wasn’t ecstatic about that,” Katz said.

Over the past year, Katz has repeatedly criticized former Winnipeg Parking Authority chief operating officer Dave Hill for commissioning multiple consultants and not consulting with council before making changes to parking practices.

Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi repeatedly defended Hill for taking the initiative to make changes in a manner expected of the head of a special operating agency. Hill left for the private sector in 2010. go to website best parking nyc

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca Prepare to pay more What various arms of the municipal government say about parking rates on city streets:

The city auditor Parking rates on city streets are too low, compared to parkade and surface-lot rates.

This creates congestion, pollution, discourages people from visiting downtown and harms private and public surface lot and parkade operators.

(Source: Operational review of Winnipeg Parking Authority) The Winnipeg Parking Authority Pay parking on city streets should begin at 8 a.m., instead of 9 a.m.

Weekday parking in high-demand areas such as the Portage Avenue strip, Broadway and the Exchange District portion of Main Street should double to $2 per hour from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with rush-hour restrictions remaining in place.

Saturday parking in the same high-demand areas should be $1 for the first hour, with the second hour free, instead of two free hours.

Evening parking should cost $1 per hour from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. instead of being free.

Fines for common offences such as parking too long or not plugging a pay station should increase to $30 to $60, from the existing range of $20 to $40.

(Source: 2011 business plan) City council The parking authority can consult with people about the changes and report back in the fall.

(Source: March 2011 meeting) Kives, Bartley