Following a lengthy discussion, Belleville Council has voted in favour of 2-hour free parking in municipal lots within the BDIA boundaries and several spectators in the audience applauded the decision.
According to the memo, implementing the 2-hour free parking in downtown lots is estimated to reduce total annual revenues for hourly parking in lots to $83,018 in lost revenue compared to today, and $165,318 in lost revenue compared to the projections prepared as part of the parking study and approved by Council to enter budget deliberations.
Implementing a parking control system within the parking lots in Belleville would provide an opportunity to address a number of customer service needs. A typical control system for a lot, or series of lots, would typically include entry and exit terminals / pay stations, gate arm systems at each lot to control entry and exit, software and networking infrastructure to allow payment processing and data transfer between devices, and potentially external signage which can provide real time information to users.
Based on the consultant’s memorandum, implementing a 2-hour free period in lots within the BDIA boundaries would reduce annual hourly lot revenues by $83,018, compared to today and $165,313 compared to the projections prepared as part of the Comprehensive Parking Study. Furthermore, based on the Comprehensive Parking Study, the cost to manage the 2-hour free period would increase between $53,000 -$106,000 per year for enforcement officers or between $458,200 and $526,775 to install a parking control system, with yearly software maintenance fees as well as increased budget to handle new physical signage.
Councillor Thompson spoke about how small businesses in Downtown Belleville are struggling due to parking costs, while Councillor Carr mentioned that while the parking would be free for customers, someone will ultimately have to pay, and mentioned how businesses in other cities pay a substantial amount of rent in order to have a free parking lot for visitors.
Councillor Thompson brought forward a motion to amend the original motion to ‘The City implement 2-hour free parking in the lots within the BDIA boundaries in 2026’.
Councillor Brown, Councillor Carr, and Mayor Ellis were not in favour.
Councillor Chatten, Councillor Enright-Miller, Councillor Kelly, Councillor Seu, and Councillor Thompson voted in favour.
Councillor Henderson was not present for today’s meeting.
(HAILEY MACDONALD)
