After a careful read of the 2014 parking study commissioned by the City, I agree that we need a new outlook on parking. That means improving service and the resident/customer experience, advancing parking technology, and taking another look at the overall policies. That should also mean re-thinking how we spend the money we collect in parking meter revenue. I believe that some of that money needs to be invested in the neighbourhoods where the revenue is generated. For Downtown, that could mean improving the streetscape, new economic partnerships with the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, fixing sidewalks, increasing the number of bike racks, and other amenities. That discussion is long overdue and examples elsewhere in Saskatchewan suggest that a strategic use of these funds can yield both short and long term from a planning and infrastructure perspective. Here's my motion.
WHEREAS the downtown is afforded special recognition in the Official Community Plan (OCP) and part of a “City Centre that is the primary hub for civic, cultural and major office uses”;
WHEREAS Downtown is the principal source of parking meter revenue for the City of Regina; and
WHEREAS there may be value in changing the perception of meter and parking revenue from an alleged “cash grab” to an investment in parking technologies, services, infrastructure, and other amenities located in the surrounding communities;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
1. That Administration report back to the Community and Protective Services Committee in Q2 of 2019 with a strategy and financial implications of committing a portion of parking meter revenue to the Downtown and other areas where metered fares are collected; and
2. That Administration consider the Downtown Deferred Revenue Account (DDRA) as a potential destination for parking revenue.