Fees for driver training businesses eyed by council

There’s fresh concern in the city’s south end with people coming from the GTA to learn to drive and to later take their driver’s tests at the city’s driver testing facility on Erskine Avenue — and city councillors are planning to take a closer look at the matter. Coun. Lesley Parnell said it’s been an issue for years: driver training businesses take people from the GTA to learn to drive on Peterborough’s less-congested streets and then do their tests here. That’s an “annoyance” because out-of-towners are using city streets without paying taxes, Parnell said, and they clog up the waiting list for testing for local people. But now that the GTA is a COVID-19 hot spot, Parnell said there are “new sensitivities” around it — and she said it’s time for council to act. “It’s reignited ill feelings,” Parnell said. “It’s come up again with more urgency to it, because of COVID-19.” So Parnell said she worked with fellow Otonabee Coun. Kim Zippel to come up with an idea to address the issue. On Monday, Parnell moved to order a new city staff report on the possibility of charging a new business licence to anyone teaching people to drive in the city — whether they are a local company or not, or whether they are teaching people to drive cars or transport trucks. It’s not necessarily going to dissuade driver-training businesses from coming here, Parnell said, but the fee would at least begin to compensate the city for use of its streets. Councillors gave preliminary approval to order the staff report on Monday.