A Montreal borough has announced that starting this summer, the pricing of parking permits on its territory will be based on the type of vehicle and its net weight.
The Borough Council of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie specifies that in less than two months, from the 1er July, for example, a $115 tariff will be imposed on electric, hydrogen fuel cell or plug-in hybrid vehicles with a net mass of 1549 kilograms or less. The rate will be the same for combustion vehicles or non-plug-in hybrids with a net mass of 1249 kilograms or less.
The rate will be $205 for vehicles in the first category weighing 1850 kilograms or more and for those in the second category weighing 1600 kilograms or more.
The borough council cites data compiled by Statistics Canada which indicates that between 2001 and 2021, the population aged 15 and over has grown by 11.3% on the island of Montreal, while according to the Société de l Automobile Insurance of Quebec (SAAQ), during the same period, the number of passenger vehicles increased by 21.7%.
At the same time, the proportion of light truck type vehicles jumped 189.7%. In 2021, they constituted 41.4% of the Montreal automobile fleet, a proportion 2.3 times higher than 20 years earlier.
On the other hand, the borough council cites the Mobility Chair of Polytechnique Montréal which states that the loss of street parking spaces attributable to the gradual increase in the volume of vehicles would be between 10% and 25%. Applied to the territory of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, this would represent a potential loss of 4,000 to 10,000 sites.
The mayor of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, François Limoges, says he wants to encourage those who have no choice but to use a vehicle in their travels to opt for smaller formats, or better, for car sharing.
Rates are also provided in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie for additional annual vignettes, for people with low incomes or with reduced mobility, as well as for people who are members of a car-sharing service.