Visitors will soon have to pay for parking in Elora

People visiting Elora will soon have to pay to park downtown.

During a Township of Centre Wellington council meeting this week, councillors received a report on a potential paid parking program.

“We do have high utilization rates of our parking spots, especially in Elora,” Dan Wilson, Centre Wellington’s Chief Administrative Officer, said. “This does lead to a number of challenges: difficulty finding parking, increased congestion, reduced accessibility, heightened illegal parking, negative perceptions about the town and tourism, economic setbacks for local businesses and various environmental impacts.”

Currently, drivers can park in downtown Elora for three hours for free. Streets away from the downtown area also longer term, 24-hour parking. The community also has several municipal parking lots.

The paid parking proposal divided downtown Elora into two areas:

Zone 1: paid parking with a three-hour time limit

Zone 2: paid parking for up to 24 hours

Zone 1 included Metcalfe Street, Mill Street, Price Street, Church Street and MacDonald Square.

“One interesting comment from our parking enforcers: tourists come to town, especially in Elora, and they ask where they can pay for parking and get a little uncomfortable when they are told parking is free, because they expect to pay and feel more comfortable if they’ve paid for their spot,” Wilson told council.

Wilson said feedback was collected via a survey. Three options were provided to respondents: the first option would have maintained the status quo, the second option required all drivers to pay for downtown parking and the third option required only visitors to pay for parking downtown.

Wilson said 66 per cent of survey respondents supported the third option.

Council approved a motion to move forward with the third option and authorize staff to begin working with a contractor to explore implementation options, proposed fees and draft a bylaw.

Wilson did not expect the change would be fully implemented before the fall.

What does it mean for people who live or work in Elora?

Once the program is up and running, Centre Wellington Township residents will need to register their vehicles to avoid charges when parking downtown. They will still need to adhere to the posted time limits, but they will not be required to pay to park as long as they have completed the registration process.

Meanwhile people who park downtown for work or visit frequently will have the option of purchasing a parking permit. The proposed price for the permit was $125.