Downtown parking price hike deters overnight stays

As the city tries to cut down on impaired driving, one parking lot in Calgary's downtown has made it tougher to leave your car behind and take a cab home.

An overnight stay at Bankers Hall used to cost just $2 on Friday night.

But as Rob Lewis found out, that's no longer true. His last overnight park cost $44.

That's because itnow costs $5 for every 30 minutes between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Saturday morning before Bankers Hall opens.

"It was cheap and it was safe. Right, so I could keep my car safe and not have to worry about it. But more importantly, I didn't have to drive home at the end of the night," he said.

"I think Calgary's got a pretty big issue with drinking and driving, especially amongst young people, and so this was a really great way to help avoid that," he said.

The parking manager at Bankers Hall said part of the reason for the increase was to stop staff from parking there.

But there are still other good options, including "Five Dollar Fridays" at the city-run lots, said Caralyn Macdonald, the Calgary Downtown Associations marketing manager.

"You come downtown at any of their parkades after 11 o'clock in the morning, it's five dollars to park straight through until 10 a.m. the next day," she said.

The Downtown Association's website has a map that shows where all the cheap parking lots are located.