Where to find cheaper parking downtown Vernon

CITY COUNCIL SLASHES PRICES IN SOME AREAS 

VERNON – Downtown parking just got cheaper—if you don’t mind trekking a few blocks to your destination.

City council shaved 25 cents off the originally 75 cent hourly rates in the parkade and added a 50 cent per hour option at the parking lot on 29 St. to give drivers reprieve from the dollar an hour fee everywhere else downtown.

The city needs to invest around $7,000 for signage and a ticket dispenser for the 29 Street parking lot, which only offered monthly parking before.

Council picked the action out of seven options provided by staff. Choices ranged from changing nothing to slashing rates by half at all meters outside the 30 Avenue zone—a move which would have shrunk city revenue by $190,000.

Coun. Catherine Lord says parking rates doubled after a 2013 core services review, and in retrospect, she wishes council had employed a gentler touch.

“At least now we are alleviating the parking a little bit without impacting revenues too much,” Lord says.

Coun. Brian Quiring is dissatisfied with council’s chosen action, insisting parking is “just too expensive.”

He admits council did what it had to do in 2013 to stabilize the city’s revenue base, but anticipates the discussion will resurface.

“The next budget, we’re going to have to revisit it, because… I think right now we’re doing a disservice to the downtown,” Quiring says.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.