Businesses take bulk of complaints one month after paid parking begins in Westboro

Residents and businesses are sharing their frustration one month after the city implemented paid on-street parking in Westboro. CTV’s Tyler Fleming reports.

One month after the rollout of paid on-street parking in Westboro and Hintonburg, residents remain split on the change. But it’s local businesses that say they’re bearing the brunt of customer frustration.

The city implemented the $3-an-hour fees on Sept. 2, including a two-hour parking limit, across nearly 700 spots along main roads including Richmond Road and Wellington Street West. The city notes its goal is to improve turnover in high-demand areas.

Some shoppers, like Elora Armitage, say paid parking was expected.

“It’s not a big deal for me,” she says. “I’m from downtown, so I just kind of expect to pay for parking. If you want free parking, you’re going to have to drive out to Kanata.”

Others are less accepting. One Ottawa resident, waiting in line at a pay meter called the switch, “absolutely ridiculous.”

For shop owners, the broader issue has been the lack of consistency. Payment periods vary depending on the block, with rules shifting from Monday-to-Saturday in one stretch, to shorter weekday hours or free weekends just steps away.

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters

“The city sends lots of FAQs and sheets for our businesses to use,” says Judy Lincoln, executive director of the Westboro Village BIA. “But they’re still taking the front line, and they’re still sort of taking the frustrations from people about it ... From one block to the next you may have evening parking, or you may not and it’s again coming down to the businesses to explain the why to the public.”

Ottawa Bylaw and Regulatory Services (BLRS) says drivers were given warnings between Sept. 3 and 8, and tickets from the 9th onward.

“Between September 9th and September 30th, BLRS issued 1,322 tickets for pay-and-display violations in the newly established Pay and Display zones in the Richmond/Wellington area,” Bylaw Director Roger Chapman said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“BLRS will continue efforts to educate residents and visitors about the updated parking rules in the area.”

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Molly Van der Schee, owner of The Village Quire, says while the new parking rules have not hurt sales, she’s hearing concerns from customers and other surrounding businesses.

“It’s not too late for the city to change their mind and do a 30-minute grace period,” she says. “I live here as well and it’s annoying. You have to come down and grab your coffee beans and you have to pay parking for five minutes at eight in the morning. I don’t get it.”

For now, businesses and residents say the real test will come in the months and years ahead, as shoppers decide whether the cost of parking is worth the trip.