Plan for charging for parking on some downtown Winnipeg streets moves one step closer

Evening parking rates at downtown street parking meters in Winnipeg are one step closer to becoming a reality.

The alternate service delivery committee approved the Winnipeg Parking Authority’s proposal to establish evening rates at certain downtown meters between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

The charge would be a maximum of $2 per hour.

Cars could only stay in the same spot for a maximum of two hours.

The area in question is the SHED (Sports, Hospitality and Entertainment District), stretching from Smith Street west to Edmonton Street and from Portage Avenue south to St. Mary Avenue.

The area also includes parts of Ellice Avenue between Smith Street and Hargrave Street.

The committee did not approve the parking authority’s plan to establish evening rates for an expanded area of downtown.

The Winnipeg Parking Authority said the plan is meant to free up more spaces, more often.

"The downtown is available for you to come down and spend your time,” said Winnipeg Parking Authority Chief Operating Officer Randy Topolniski.

“It's just we want you to start learning how to use the streets in a different fashion,” he said.

If you’re going to an event for a longer period of time the parking authority wants you to park in an off-street location.

It’s estimated evening rates would bring in between $50,000 and $100,000 in additional revenue.

Topolniski said it’s not a cash grab.

"If it were all about money we would just simply put the requirement to pay up to whatever time we'd want to establish,” he said.

Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) supported the plan, but not without some hesitation.

"It wasn’t necessarily where I wanted to go,” Browaty said.

“I thought we had the opportunity to do two hours of free parking, which would encourage that turnover.”

“This is another way of going about it," he said.

Downtown resident Nik Law disagrees.

He gives rides to friends and family when they want to visit because he said there’s nowhere for them to park on-street and they won’t use parkades.

“I don’t mind them parking in off-street parkades but they don’t want to because they don’t feel safe downtown,” Law said.

Downtown bridal shop owner Cui Kia Ly said she fears the plan will only drive customers away.

"To increase the hours is really not a good idea. It's going to hurt all the businesses in downtown,” Ly said.

The plan still needs approval from the city’s executive policy committee and full council.

The changes could likely come into effect sometime this summer.