Edmonton to remove residential parking zones, charge fee for residential parking permits

Changes to residential parking zones The city is scrapping a number of residential parking zones in Edmonton. Jeremy Thompson has more.

The city is removing a number of resident-only parking zones in Edmonton and bringing in a fee for residents in other zones who want to retain their parking permits.

The city's urban planning committee voted in favour of the changes to the residential parking program on Tuesday.

There are currently 19 residential parking program areas in the city, including areas around post-secondary institutions, major event venues, and transit centres which the city calls traffic generators.

As a result of the vote, residential parking restrictions in areas where there are no traffic generators will be removed.

Residential parking in the following areas will be replaced with universal two-hour parking zones, paid e-parking areas, or free parking:

The following areas will have their resident-only parking zones reduced:

Residents in the remaining residential parking areas will be required to pay an annual fee of $120 starting this fall to retain their permits.

City administration suggests the changes will "create consistency" across program areas and make more parking available in more areas throughout the city.

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi voted against the proposal, saying he can't support asking residents to pay a fee.

"When we approved the 6.6 per cent tax levy, the monthly impact on households was about $90 per average household. And here we are talking about charging $10 per month to park on the street, and that will have an impact on low income Edmontonians," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"I think at a time when people are struggling with affordability, this is not the right approach to take."

Ward O-day'min Coun. Anne Stevenson says there were enough mitigating factors in the proposal to convince her to vote in favour.

"The fee is optional," she said. "So for people who have a garage that they're currently using for storage, they could clean that out and have that available for parking.

"We are making provision for people with lower incomes so they can apply for a reduced fee or potentially no fee at all if it relates to accessibility. So I think that's a fair way to balance."

The residential parking program was first introduced in the 1970s as a way to keep street parking open for residents in high-demand areas.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson