With parking lots at capacity and the town in need of alternative revenue sources it鈥檚 time Jasper seriously considers charging visitors for parking.
Last week administration suggested council consider implementing a pilot project charging visitors for parking in municipal parking lots.
The idea split council, with those in favour arguing it would generate additional revenue for the town, while those opposed said they would prefer time limits.
As Mayor Richard Ireland correctly pointed out, the crux of the issue is whether the pilot project is designed to improve parking in town or generate additional revenue or a combination of the two.
From a revenue stand point, the answer is easy. The municipality needs more money to support the town鈥檚 aging infrastructure and services and this would help fill that void.
From a parking stand point, the answer isn鈥檛 so clear. There is no way of knowing whether charging visitors or implementing time limits will actually help improve the parking situation in the downtown core.
The risk is that if you charge visitors to park their car they might simply decide to park on residential streets where parking is free, or worse, decide to spend their hard earned dollars elsewhere hurting everyone鈥檚 bottom line.
We only need to look at the public backlash that ensued when Banff tried to implement paid parking in 2014.
In August 2014, Banff began charging $2 per hour for vehicles parked between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. seven days a week in five of its municipal parking lots.
The three-month pilot project was strongly opposed by local residents and businesses even before it came into effect and a petition was circulated demanding council scrap the pilot project.
In fact, the issue became so controversial that Banff decided to end the pilot project a month early.
At the time, the municipality of Banff saw paid parking as a way to ease congestion, not as a way to generate additional revenue, a key distinction that differs from the discussion Jasper is having.
If council decides to charge visitors for parking, it must make its objective clear.
Is the pilot project intended to generate additional revenue or improve parking, or is it a combination of the two?
From our perspective, charging visitors for parking is a logical thing to consider when you look at the realities Jasper is facing, but it must be done in a thoughtful manner with public input so we don鈥檛 end up doing more damage than good.
