Council supports repealing 'park-and-pay' on nights, weekends

Hours after a $3 fee for using park-and-ride lots kicked in atthe firstC-Train stations, city council voted to eliminate the fees after 6 p.m. weekdays and on weekends.

Aldermenasked city staff on Mondayto come up with suggestions onhow to make upfor an estimated$1.5 million in lost revenue the proposed reversal will cost. Money from the fee, approved by city council in November,is meantto improve security and maintain the C-Train system.

Council will not ratify eliminating the evening and weekend fee until that report is presented, which isexpected in April.

Drivers parking at the McKnight-Westwinds, Somerset-Bridlewood and Dalhousie stations had to pay the new fee Monday morning. By the end of May, all park-and-ride lots will charge$3 a day. Violators face a ticket of $40.

The vote passed 11-4 after aldermen were swamped with complaints about the new fee.

Ald. Andre Chabotsaidscrapping evening and weekend feesis the right move.

"To charge for parking, and try and get people to come downtown with the limited parking opportunities that there are in the evenings and weekends?I would say this is a great step for council," he said.

Ald.Gord Lowe, who wanted tocharge 24 hours aday, said it'sa case of Calgarians wanting something, but not wanting to pay.

"I hear two messages in my email and on thetelephone. One is that safety and cleanliness issues have to be dealt with. On the other hand,I don't want to pay $3. It doesn't work that way. It's a fee for service."

Drivers switching to free lots

Thelotat Dalhousie station in northwest Calgary was only half full at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, with grumbling drivers lining up to pay their $3.

Drivers, who said the lot was normally full by 6:30 a.m., said thrifty commuters were probably parking on residential streets or driving to the nearby Brentwood C-Train stop, where the park-and-ride is still free, butthe lot was full.

Calgary Transit spokesman Ron Collins said complaints are to be expected as commuters get used to paying to park.

"There is going to be an adjustment period. Not everyone agrees with having to pay to park," Collins said. "All of the funds from paying for parking inCalgary Transit parking lotsare going to be reinvested into ensuring that the transit system remains safe, clean and well-maintained in the future."

Collins calledit a user-pay system,sayingonly 10 per cent of all transit riders use the park-and-ride lots.