A Vernon councillor is keeping an eye on the impact of higher parking fees at city meters. Mary Jo O'Keefe has asked city staff for monthly reports on revenue generated by the meters which doubled from 50 cents to $1 an hour, in March. O'Keefe says council hiked the fees to reduce the tax impact of the budget, but there's concerns it's led to less people parking. "If the increase in fees is not achieving budget targets, then we have to watch that trend and see if we really want to maintain higher rates." O'Keefe says if the meter hikes don't have the intended result, then council should reconsider them. One downtown merchant tells Kiss FM, business at his coffee shop dropped 17 percent in March, compared to the same month a year ago, which Jeff Wuolle feels is due to the parking rates.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
Parking Fees Get Closer Scrutiny
Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Tuesday, 09 April 2013 06:03
A Vernon councillor is keeping an eye on the impact of higher parking fees at city meters. Mary Jo O'Keefe has asked city staff for monthly reports on revenue generated by the meters which doubled from 50 cents to $1 an hour, in March. O'Keefe says council hiked the fees to reduce the tax impact of the budget, but there's concerns it's led to less people parking. "If the increase in fees is not achieving budget targets, then we have to watch that trend and see if we really want to maintain higher rates." O'Keefe says if the meter hikes don't have the intended result, then council should reconsider them. One downtown merchant tells Kiss FM, business at his coffee shop dropped 17 percent in March, compared to the same month a year ago, which Jeff Wuolle feels is due to the parking rates.
A Vernon councillor is keeping an eye on the impact of higher parking fees at city meters. Mary Jo O'Keefe has asked city staff for monthly reports on revenue generated by the meters which doubled from 50 cents to $1 an hour, in March. O'Keefe says council hiked the fees to reduce the tax impact of the budget, but there's concerns it's led to less people parking. "If the increase in fees is not achieving budget targets, then we have to watch that trend and see if we really want to maintain higher rates." O'Keefe says if the meter hikes don't have the intended result, then council should reconsider them. One downtown merchant tells Kiss FM, business at his coffee shop dropped 17 percent in March, compared to the same month a year ago, which Jeff Wuolle feels is due to the parking rates.
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