A quiet change to the Winnipeg Parking Authority’s (WPA) enforcement on complimentary two-hour parking on Saturdays has caused confusion, and forced temporary change.
On Tuesday, the City of Winnipeg issued a statement, saying all tickets issued on Saturdays between December 2 and 23 would either be cancelled or refunded.
WPA CAO Randy Topolniski said two-hour complimentary parking on Saturdays has been around in Winnipeg since before 2000. When the WPA was established in 2004, the bylaw continued on, but there was never clarification on when the free hours come into effect – whether it was immediately or after paying for the minimum two hours.
Typically, enforcement officers would monitor the vehicles downtown, and if the driver paid for two hours in advance, they would tack on an additional two for free. If a vehicle was found to have not paid up front, the officer would come back in two hours to see if they had.
Topolniski said the WPA wanted to make the policy more clear, so it changed its website to say the two-hour complimentary parking comes into effect after the minimum amount was paid. That change came at the end of November, with the website updated on December 1.
When enforcement is changed, Topolniski said warning tickets or brochures are typically issued the first few weeks, to help educate drivers about the upcoming changes.
“Normal enforcement was not followed in this fashion,” said Topolniski.
Changes like this, he said, do not normally have to go through council.
A review will now happen, in order to figure out how to best enforce the weekend parking policy. That will have to go through council.
In the meantime, drivers will be allowed to park downtown for free for their first two hours on Saturday, and will then need to plug the meter if they intend on staying longer, or will face being ticketed.
The City of Winnipeg said on December 16 and 23, 84 drivers were ticketed and 25 warnings were issued. 17 people have already paid their $30 tickets, resulting in the city having to refund $510.
