Saint John councillors push for parking crackdown

Councillors John MacKenzie, Gerry Lowe are also requesting a special brainstorming session on parking issues

CBC.ca
Aug. 17, 2015
By Connell Smith

Two Saint John councillors want to end all-day free parking to non-residents in the central peninsula area as a way to boost municipal revenue.

Councillors John MacKenzie and Gerry Lowe say they believe too many people parking for free - or for very little money - in the central peninsula.

They hope to do it by ending all-day free parking for non-residents on streets in the Lower Cove area, a short, eight-minute walk to uptown businesses.

Lowe said they also want a crackdown on unregistered parking lots on vacant properties that do not have proper zoning.

"I think we can get farther ahead, get revenue for the city," said Lowe.

"I mean the amount of illegal parking lots from, say, City Road down to Tin Can Beach here is enormous and we're trying to do something about that."

Lowe said he hopes to push more motorists into city managed parking lots, including Peel Plaza.

There are only about 90 monthly parkers in the city's new Peel Plaza Parking Garage, according to the Saint John Parking Commission.

The facility, which cost more than $16 million to build, has spaces for 446 vehicles.

Lowe and MacKenzie have put a motion on Monday evening's city council agenda.

They are asking for a special brainstorming session involving all members of council, city department heads, and police and parking commission representatives.

It is hoped the group can find ways to generate more municipal revenue from parking.

Missed municipal revenue

Victor Train sees missed city revenue every weekday morning in front of his commercial building on St. James Street.

"About 7:30 all the vehicles are all in from Quispamsis and Rothesay area and park down all these streets in the Lower Cove loop for free parking and take everybody else's parking space," said Train.

"Put in parking meters, it will earn more income for the city."

Several residents living in the lower south end described similar trends to CBC News on Friday.

And streets just one block north of St. James, where there is a two-hour limit for on street parking, had few cars on them.

There are no daytime limits for on-street parking south of St. James Street.