CANMORE – The first public look at money generated by Canmore’s downtown paid parking program shows a financial boon to Town coffers.
The newly instituted program received gross revenue of $836,000 over a three-month period from June 29 to Sept. 29. The new source of revenue will see Town of Canmore staff and the Downtown BIA work together to create a grant program for some of those revenues to go towards the downtown core.
The program for the BIA will be rolled out in 2023, with funding established annually during council’s budget deliberations.
“This is a win," said Mayor Sean Krausert.
"This is a way to make sure there’s alignment, annual communication and the BIA and the Town are working together to determine what best fits with the use of those funds as per our reserve policies and what the BIA sees as priorities,”
Coun. Jeff Mah, who sits as the council representative on the Downtown BIA, said the BIA’s strategic plan and downtown area redevelopment plan (ARP) still under development will further encourage the Town and BIA to collaborate.
“[It’ll] heighten connection between admin and the BIA and prevent overlap. I’m really excited to see the great things that can come out of the funding from parking money,” he said.
Canmore has a goal of reaching 40 per cent non-vehicle travel by 2030 and it has continued to see transit ridership increase as public transit bounces back as part of the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
During 2022 budget deliberations, council supported the direction of funds to create a planning position to focus on the much discussed Palliser ARP and Downtown ARP plans. Funds were also moved to increase public transit frequency in Canmore.
This is the natural progression out of all the work done on the Integrated Transportation Plan and the Integrated Parking Management Plan, Coun. Tanya Foubert said.
"We’re seeing as it happens the changes of adjusting our transportation systems and managing parking more efficiently. I think as more information comes in, we’ll better understand parking and we’ll be able to refine that program, but we will have revenues out of it," she said.
“I think collecting revenues without a purpose is not the best idea. The paid parking revenues have identifiable uses and this is a really important one because the downtown and the downtown centre is an identifiable place.”
Town staff cautioned that fines and program costs have yet to be calculated, which would show the net revenue and provide a more fulsome picture. They estimated the paid parking program would bring in $1.14 million in revenue in 2023, but that the net revenue is likely to be about $740,000 after salaries, vendor contract costs and service fees are calculated.
The Quarry Lake paid parking program began in 2021 and brought in more than $220,000 in net revenue. With both programs running at once, the Quarry Lake zone raised gross revenue of $184,000, while the Town Centre had gross revenue of $652,000 from June 29 to Sept. 29.
Municipal enforcement checked a total of 23,700 licence plates and issued 633 warnings. There were a total of 2,623 tickets because a vehicle didn’t pay to park and 3,488 tickets were given by parking ambassadors.
The parking ambassadors have used an education approach and used ticketing as a last resort.
“Residents have been given a lot of leniency as they learn the program and parking ambassadors have been quite helpful in that regard,” said Caitlin Miller, Canmore’s manager of protective services.
Scott McKay, the Town’s general manager of municipal services, said the Town and BIA will continue to work together on encouraging mode shift.
“The grant program does need to be developed. I’d suggest in broad strokes we’d be looking at having a grant program that allows the BIA in directing certain funds for items that are aligned with our Integrated Parking and Transportation plans that may be capital in nature.”
A staff report noted other municipalities typically use paid parking revenue for operating costs and parking infrastructure improvements or maintenance, but funds can be provided in the form of a grant for projects delivered by a municipality.
The Downtown BIA previously requested 25 per cent of the share in net revenues to help support operating costs and to expand downtown beautification and vibrancy measures.
Banff town council will be considering a fee hike to paid parking and possibly expanding the program at its annual service review and budget deliberations. Town staff have also been directed to look into the possibility of having a free parking pass for Indigenous peoples. Town of Banff staff estimate the net revenue for paid parking in Banff will be $1.589 million and could grow to as much as $2.177 million in 2025.
Miller said the goals of Canmore's paid parking program are to encourage a transportation mode shift while still providing the right mix of parking options to meet the needs of residents, visitors and employees.
“The aim is to ensure high use parking areas do not exceed capacity during peak season on a regular basis and the focus is on using parking facilities efficiently," she said.
BY THE NUMBERS
REVENUE (June 29 to Sept. 29, 2022)
- Gross revenue: $836,000
- Gross Town Centre revenue: $652,000
- Gross Quarry Lake revenue: $184,000
PERMITS (June 29 to Sept. 29, 2022)
- Total resident permits processed: 11,684
- Vehicles registered for resident parking permit: 9,818
- Permit applications for individuals processed: 11,177
- Permit applications for businesses processed: 507
- Permit applications rejected: 135
ENFORCEMENT (June 29 to Sept. 29, 2022)
- Total parking sessions: 183,057
- Number of plates checked: 23,707
- Total tickets: 2,623
- Tickets issued for failing to pay: 2,623
- Warnings issued: 633
- Traffic and road use bylaw tickets: 536
RESIDENT PARKING SESSIONS (June 29 to Sept. 29, 2022)
- Free resident parking sessions Town Centre: 33,180
- Free resident parking sessions Quarry Lake: 8,937
