City introduces timed free parking zones downtown
The contentious issue of dealing with broken parking meters downtown came up at the city council meeting again Monday evening.
The city released a detailed plan, and voted unanimously to implement it.
It’s called timed free parking zones – the city has designated some areas downtown as twohour free parking zones, and other areas as four-hour free parking zones. Drivers who park longer than the allotted time will be ticketed.
Coun. Debbie Hanlon said signs to that effect will go up as soon as possible, but may take some time. She said people will not be ticketed for going over the allotted time until the signs are installed.
It’s a temporary solution to encourage parking turnover until new parking meters, pay-by-phone apps, and pay stations start to get phased in next year.
The plan came to fruition after the city received backlash from its initial plan to immediately implement ticketing for people parked longer than two hours at broken meters.
The city has since sought feedback from some downtown business owners, the Downtown Advisory Committee, and Downtown St. John’s.
“What we’re trying to do is offer some much-needed parking relief for the businesses downtown, especially with the Christmas season upon us,” said Hanlon.
“We’re not doing this for any other reason – no other reason at all – except to help the businesses right now.”
Coun. Hope Jamieson said she heard from a lot of downtown business owners who said December is when they make their money, and the broken meters are affecting business.
More than 50 per cent of the city’s parking meters are missing.
Jamieson said business owners told her the city can’t wait until next year to address the problem by implementing new parking meter systems – they expect something to be done now.
“While this is not that perfect solution that we’re looking towards in the future, I think that this will see the positive ramifications for the businesses who just need to get through this season,” said Jamieson.
She also said some people wrote to her with concerns that wheelchair parking spaces should be made four-hour zones – that suggested change will go back to the transportation department for review.
Jamieson said others asked her to add parking spaces at the top of Prescott Street to the timed free parking list.
That suggestion will also go back to the transportation department.