Do you pay more than the time actually used when using public parking lots in Montreal? The Official Opposition at City Hall believes so, and suggests offering credits to motorists who do not reach the limit of their parking meters.
Posted at 11:24 a.m.
“The current method of payment does not allow accumulation of time or signaling the departure of a parking space. If we pay for two hours and leave after an hour, we never see our money again,” said the leader of Ensemble Montreal, Aref Salem, at a press conference Thursday morning.
Remember that the idea of such a “pointing” system is not new. It had indeed been put forward by Denis Coderre last October, when he presented his mobility commitments during the last municipal campaign.
Nevertheless, a motion will be tabled to force elected officials to vote at the next city council on June 13. Concretely, the opposition proposes to add an option within the P$ Service Mobile application that would allow Montrealers to indicate at what precise moment they leave their parking space. The overpaid amount would then be “credited to the same application” and could be reused later.
Several Canadian cities, such as Calgary, Victoria or Edmonton, already offer a “start button” on their parking application, in order to stop charging fees.
“I don’t think there will be a lack of revenue from the first year. There may be stagnation. That said, when there is credit, in principle, you can use it if necessary. These are things to study, ”said Mr. Salem, whose party is not in a position to quantify the cost of such a measure. “There is a basic fairness problem that must be corrected. Technology absolutely allows us to change the application. It has to be done,” he insisted.
In a press release, the opposition also demands that the Sustainable Mobility Agency “explore solutions” so that the same user-pays principle also applies to users of the physical payment terminal. To date, nearly eight out of ten Montrealers use the mobile application instead of the terminal. Among those under 35, this proportion even climbs to around 95%. “There is no easy solution, but we are optimistic that the Agency will find an interesting formula on this subject”, indicated the councilor of the City in Bordeaux-Cartierville, Effie Giannou.
Valérie Plante’s office says it is working “tirelessly to improve mobility in Montreal for all users”, which includes the issue of parking. “The significant investments we have made in technological updating and innovation at the Agence de mobility durable will open many doors to fair pricing, and make parking easier and more transparent for motorists,” indicates the press officer Marikym Gaudreault.
“One thing is certain: we are open to exploring the different possibilities. We will discuss the proposal at the next city council,” she concludes.