‘Fill that gap’: City proposes solution for downtown parking payment concerns

Regina city council will add parking vouchers at City Hall after complaints about app-only payments. Donovan Maess reports.

Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski, in collaboration with city administration, has proposed an idea which could address concerns raised about changes to downtown parking payment: pre-paid vouchers.

In December during budget deliberations, council approved the transition from coin-based parking payment to a fully app-based system and removing physical meters from downtown.

Bachynski and his fellow councillors say they have received a slough of complaints by residents saying they either do not have a smart phone, credit card or both in order to park.

“We received a lot of feedback highlighting a gap in the execution we planned by eliminating the coin meters,” the mayor told reporters Wednesday. “It was great feedback highlighting we need to make sure everybody is able to access parking.”

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Despite the criticism from Regina residents, the program went into effect on March 1.

As part of Wednesday’s executive meeting, Bachynski and administration proposed the idea of the vouchers as an alternative for those who want to pay with card or cash.

“That’s our objective is to have this prepaid parking voucher at city hall,” Kurtis Doney, city manager of operations, told committee members.

The idea is quite simple.

Drivers requiring a parking permit but do not have access to the app would purchase as many vouchers as they need from city hall at the same per hour cost it is through the app.

Those vouchers would then be displayed so parking enforcement officers know the vehicle is parked legally. The same parking times and limits would also be enforced.

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Administration says other municipalities which have also transitioned to online payments use this alternative.

“This is a large change management process happening very quickly,” added Doney. “Other cities have done this and they have implemented something like a paper copy or paper version. They have very low uptake, but there’s something that’s still available.”

Cost savings

Efficiency was the reason behind the decision to remove the meters.

The city says removing physical meters from the downtown will save $220,000 in operating costs.

“What’s not in there is future savings, is the capital cost,” Doney said. “We expect if this decision was not made by council during budget, we would probably be in front of council in two or three years considering how do we move forward with parking meters? Because parking meters themselves are outdated technology.”

• Coins will no longer be accepted to park in downtown Regina

Administration says the future cost savings are between $2 million and $3 million.

“This was a cost saving decision council made through a very tough budget cycle we had in December,” Mayor Bachynski said. “We were moving quickly on it and obviously we had to fill that gap.”

Still questions

Despite the idea coming forward, councillors still had many questions.

“If folks need to drive downtown to get these vouchers, and park downtown to get these vouchers, what do we have in place to support that?” asked Ward 6 Coun. Victoria Flores. “So they don’t get a ticket while they’re getting a voucher because they’re unable to use the app to park?”

“If this is approved, there are options with the city hall lay-bys on either side of city hall we could look at that,” Doney responded. “That’s something administration will look to implement to reduce that barrier.”

“Will city hall be the only location folks can purchase these vouchers?” Ward 7 Coun. Shobna Radons questioned.

“That’s what we can commit to right now,” added Doney. “We could look at other locations but there’s different systems we’d have to implement which would have costs and impacts to staff. Right now, we’re going to start with city hall and see what the uptake is.”

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Councillors admitted to moving through the process too quickly, passing the motion without knowing the full ramifications.

“It’s a solution to an issue that, unfortunately, came out of a decision made at budget,” said Flores. “I hope and I feel like administration is on the right track to find ways to reduce the friction and the issues people might find with this.”

“We’re all coming from a place of trying to move forward,” Bachynski added. “And I want to recognize again, any consideration of peeling back projected revenues, there’s only one place that revenue can come from and it is our reserves.”

The vouchers still require final council approval at next week’s meeting, but after getting unanimous support from executive committee members Wednesday, that is expected to go through with ease.

In the meantime, the PayByPhone app remains the only option for downtown, on-street parking.

Parking also remains free after 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and all day on weekends.

Regina residents may pay for parking using the app, online at PayByPhone.com or by calling 1-888-680-7275.

More information about the new system can be found here.

“It’s fair to say the most convenient option moving forward is going to be the app,” Bachynski reiterated. “That’s the reality.”

-With files from Caitlin Brezinski