Public Rallies against Pay Parking in Canadian Town from Page 20


Public Backlash The public response was fast and furious. From the day the


pay parking equipment was deployed in the garage, the discon- certed residents ofWhistler gathered in car parks to sign peti- tions, sent more than 250 letters to the council, and even created a Facebook group and a website (www.freewhistlerparking.com) to voice their displeasure on the Internet. The public’s general position was that they expected the


council to control their budget and reduce expenses, rather than make the residents pay for parking. “We pushed them to it,” Smith admits. “We told the public


that we are not putting in any cost-saving measures. We said: ‘We know times are tough, butwe are going tomake you pay.’” In addition, the public


speaking with actual users in the parking lots to gain pavement- level feedback.And in a unique twist, Smith plans to use Face- book as well. One additional important move for the future, the council is


investigating the possibility of setting up a parking authority for the city.


Lessons Learned Everyone inWhistler learned a lesson in parking this year.


stopped using the garage. Previously, it was typically filled to 95% capacity. After pay parking was installed, usage dropped to 6%. “Pay parking went in and the garage became a barren wasteland,” Smith notes. The public outcry went on for six weeks, culminating in a


The public outcry went on for six weeks, culminating in a shouting match at a City Council meeting.


shouting match at a City Council meeting. Finally, the council agreed to stop charging for parking in the garage, with plans to strictly enforce the three-hour time limit. The new $2 on-street parking rates stayed in place, however. “We would have engaged the business owners and the pub-


lic,” says Smith, when asked what she would have done differ- ently if the council had come to her first. “We would have done some utilization studies in advance, to find out who was parking where.And we would have offered a suite of products with dif- ferent rates.” In fact, Smith presented that exact parking strategy to the


City Council in September, and was granted permission to move forward with the plan. The first step is to engage the public. Smith’s teamwill com- municate the new parking plan via advertising in the local paper,


The City Council learned that the public takes parking seriously. Many who utilized the garage were parking there every day. This was a part of their life. Change is part of life, too, but the council had to come up with a plan and communicate it properly to the public. The council also real-


ized that theywere respon- sible to make changes in parking rates for the right


reasons – not simply to treat parking as a “cash cow.” Meanwhile, the residents ofWhistler learned there is no such


thing as free parking. Even when the user is not paying for park- ing, someone still has to pay for it. Although the people of Whistler retained their free parking garage for themoment, a new plan with variable rates is being implemented. What some members of the public may not fully understand


is that evenwhen parking provided by the city is free to users, city residents are still subsidizing the parking through property taxes. In the end, themoney has to come fromsomewhere. Interestingly, Smith says on-street parking is down about


20% since the rate increase, so the 50% increase in the parking rate is clearly bringing in more revenue. The City Council will have to decide if it was worth the political price.


Pete Goldin writes for Parking Today and Parking World. He can be reached at pete@parkingworld.com.


PT


City of Atlanta Introduces New Parking Management Agency


TheCity ofAtlanta has executed a contractwith Profession-


al Account Management, a Duncan Solutions company, for parking management services, including the management and operation of the city’s on-street parking program and enforce- ment of parking-related regulations on behalf of the city. This new program is designed to improve traffic flow in


Atlanta and maximize utilization of parking spaces for the pub- lic, residents, business owners, employees and tourists. The contract was to commence in November and operate


for a seven-year term. It includes provisions for maintenance of parking meters and regulatory signage; parking meter collec- tions; on-street parking and right-of-way regulation enforce-


22 NOVEMBER 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


ment; parking citation processing and delinquent collection services; and vehicle booting and towing services. “Aswewere exploring different alternatives to control costs


and improve services to Atlanta’s residents and visitors, we quickly identified on-street parking as an area where outside investment and industry expertise could be extremely benefi- cial,” saidAtlanta Department of PublicWorks Commissioner Joseph Basista. Through extensive analysis and planning, we believewe have identified a partner and a contractingmodel that will greatly enhance Atlanta’s ability to provide quality, cost- effective parking services, and enhanced technology for motorists and taxpayers.”


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