Saskatoon councillors vote to lower parking patio fee

Saskatoon city councillors have voted to make it easier for businesses to set up parking patios in downtown Saskatoon.

For the last few years, businesses have been able to build temporary patios on the street in front of their property. They then pay a fee to the city in lieu of the money it would normally receive in parking fees.

However, businesses have been complaining that the original $12,000 fee, added on to the cost of building the patio, was too expensive. In 2015 and 2016, only two businesses applied for the program.

On Monday morning, a City of Saskatoon committee voted in favour of dropping the cost of the fee to make the program more attractive.

"What we've talked a lot on Broadway is about the startup costs being very, very high," said DeeAnn Mercier, executive director of the Broadway Business Improvement District. "They want assurances that it is worth investing in."

However, some businesses would like to see the fees lowered even more. Local developer Curtis Olson considered building a parking patio on 20th Street before abandoning the plan as too expensive.

"In my opinion, the fees are one of a number of roadblocks to seeing greater uptake of this program," he said. "Eliminating them would be a good step in the right direction."

The new plan would drop the business fees down to $14.40 per day, with the fee shifting to $13.20 per day after a 30-day period. This is down from an initial charge of $35 per day.

The measure still needs to be approved by city council.