Motorists will have to pay to park on Ottawa streets till 7:30 p.m. in ByWard Market and Little Italy

A city committee has approved a plan to extend paid parking hours into the evening in some busy areas. CTV’s Peter Szperling reports.

Drivers will need to pay for on-street parking during the evenings in the ByWard Market and parts of Little Italy and the Glebe, despite concerns raised by restaurant owners about added costs for customers and employees.

Councillors on the public works and infrastructure committee approved an amendment from Coun. Ariel Troster to extend paid parking at on-street parking spots until 7:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday in busy areas. The motion passed by a vote of 8-1, with Coun. Sean Devine opposing the plan.

Under the plan, on-street paid parking hours will be extended to 7:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday in the ByWard Market and Little Italy South, and to 7:30 p.m. Monday to Friday in parts of the Glebe. The changes will be rolled out on Sept. 2.

• Motorists will need to pay to park on city streets in ByWard Market, Little Italy during the evenings starting this fall

A staff report had recommended extending paid parking periods at on-street parking spots in high-demand areas until 9 p.m. on weekday and weekend evenings and on Saturdays and Sundays starting in September, as part of a plan to encourage vehicle turnover.

The city will introduce paid on-street parking on Saturdays in several areas, including new areas in Little Italy South and the “Downtown” area. Troster’s motion includes continuing to offer free parking on Sundays.

The motion, approved by councillors, directs staff in the Parking Services Department to report in the spring of 2027 on the “effectiveness of the measures” for extended parking hours on weekdays and Saturdays.

The committee approved the plan after hearing from several business owners that introducing paid parking in the evenings will hurt restaurants and stores.

“By you adding additional cost to going out on something for two decades or more has been free, you’re going to add 16 per cent, potentially, to their bill,” Todd Brown, who represents several restaurants including Pure Kitchen, El Camino and Clocktower Group, told the committee.

“They won’t be able to afford it, they will just go out less often and that’s what will happen. There won’t be turnover.”

Brown says his analysis suggests the businesses he represents will lose “another $3 million in labour dollars to my employees.”

“This is going to devastate the business.”

Darrell Cox of the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas urged councillors to reject the plan to extend paid parking to evenings and on weekends.

“We’ve heard from our members that these proposed changes will have a detrimental impact on the local economy. The decision adds yet another significant burden on our small business community who continue to face the ongoing impacts of the drug and homeless crisis, tariff uncertainties and the high cost of doing business,” Cox said Thursday morning.

“Our small and medium sized businesses rely heavily on weekend and evening foot traffic, and removing free parking during these times will create an undue deterrent to local shopping.”

An Ottawa resident, Wayne Menard, told CTV News Ottawa Thursday while paying for parking for lunch in the ByWard Market the downtown area will be impacted negatively.

“It’s going to hurt the downtown life. It’s going to hit the market,” Menard said. “I mean, people are going to come in anyways, but they’re going to spend less on good food and more on parking.”

Here is a look at the new areas for extended parking hours on evenings and Saturdays, starting in September:

• ByWard Market, Besserer and King Edward areas: Paid on-street parking extended to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and Saturday evenings
• Little Italy South (paid parking on Preston Street south of Highway 417 as well as on adjacent streets): Paid on-street parking extended to 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays.
• Glebe South (Bank Street and adjacent side streets between Holmwood Avenue and First Avenue): Paid on-street parking extended to 7:30 p.m. on weekday evenings. Paid parking will end at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays.
• Downtown (between Bronson Avenue and the Rideau Canal, north of Gilmour Street to Parliament Hill): Paid on-street parking extended to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

There will be a two-hour parking limit at paid on-street parking spaces.

Staff proposed extending paid hours at on-street parking spots in areas where a survey found 80 per cent occupancy of parking spots during two consecutive data collection periods.

The EnviroCentre urged councillors to extend paid parking to evenings and weekends.

“Paid parking can reduce emissions. Directly, it reduces emissions from drivers searching for free or underpriced parking,” Cassie Smith told the committee.

“The revenue generated from paid parking is used to support sustainable transportation, from park and rides to secure bike lockers.”

Coun. Tim Tierney says Ottawa needs to align its parking hours with other cities.

“It’s become a real problem, and the turnover is also a big issue,” Tierney told CTV News Ottawa.

“We heard time and again that, a lot of people will hold on to those spots. They won’t change. We hear a lot of people say employees are parking in front of locations. Again, I think the message was very clear.”

Parking on streets in Vanier, the “Rideau” area and in the “War Museum” area near the Canadian War Museum will be free on Saturday, according to the report. Motorists must currently pay at on-street parking spots in the areas on Saturday.

Under the changes to parking rates, on-street parking hours will be harmonized to start at 8:30 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on Saturdays.

Paid parking will end at 5:30 p.m. in areas with free weekday and weekend evening parking and 7:30 p.m. where there is paid on-street parking during the weekday and Saturday evenings.

The manager of Parking Services says the goal of the increased parking hours is to encourage turnover in parking spaces.

“The purpose of extending the times and what staff had recommended, was to drive turnover to increase the availability of parking in those busier times,” Scott Caldwell said.

“The focus was only on those, those busier areas. With the revised approach, we certainly will have an opportunity to drive that turnover, increase that availability of parking, but just on a smaller scale and, we look forward to reporting back on the outcomes.”

The City of Ottawa had said the changes to parking periods and extended hours to 9 p.m. would result in $3 million in new revenues a year.

Wellington West/Westboro

When the city introduces paid on-street parking in the Wellington West and Westboro area later this year, there will be evening paid parking zones.

Staff say motorists will have to pay to park in the Richmond West zone until 7:30 p.m. on weekdays.

Paid on-street parking will also be in effect in the Churchill, Richmond West, Wellington West and Hintonburg areas on Saturdays between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

LISTEN: Downtown business owners Pat Nicastro and Alex Sirois join CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron on May 22, 2025

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Peter Szperling