Street permit parking, zoo admission among Toronto user fees set to spike

Toronto hiking user fees at most public services From parking, to parks and recreation programs, the City of Toronto is increasing user fees an additional four to five per cent.

From swim classes to ferry trips, rink rentals, and golf games—Torontonians will soon pay more for city services.

In addition to the biggest residential property tax hike since amalgamation, a hike to user fees will help the city generate the revenue needed to balance the books.

Inflationary increases of four-to-five per cent, applied to hundreds of city services, will generate $12 million for the city of Toronto this year—necessary for cost-recovery, stressed Budget Chief Councillor Gary Crawford.

“The Mayor and I, of course, in pushing to keep things affordable for people across the city, have really indicated to staff our preference to keep things as low as possible,” Crawford told CTV News Toronto.

Nonetheless staff have requested higher-than-inflation increases to hundreds of user fees.

If approved, the cost of street permit parking would climb 9.26 per cent in 2023, applying to residential permits, visitor passes, and temporary spaces.

The cost of Toronto Zoo admission would increase significantly for most types of tickets. The cost of a children’s peak period ticket would see the biggest increase, 25.63 per cent over 2022 — an increase of about five dollars a ticket.

The cost of Zoo Camp would also climb, as much as $85 per week for non-members.

The cost of property standards inspections would climb almost 20 per cent.

Various ice time and rink rental costs at arenas across the city are set to climb as well; the biggest increase is listed at McCormick arena where the cost of kids shinny hockey would double.

“I think we need to reevaluate those user fees, and where there’s a broader public benefit we should be paying for it out of revenues that everyone contributes to,” Councillor Gord Perks told CTV News Toronto.

Crawford said council would be scrutinizing the requests for higher hikes.

“We are hesitant to try to raise anything above the rate of inflation,” he said.

Council will sign off on the final budget Feb. 14.