City staff want to scrap all parking meters and pay-and-displays

Eighty-seven years after the world's first parking meter was installed by a renowned investigative reporter in Oklahoma City, the infernal machines are finally earmarked to disappear from the streets of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

City staff have served notice of their intention to scrap coin- and paper-based parking technology in a brief aside tucked near the bottom of a 1,000-word report on downtown parking issues prepared for Monday's city council meeting.

We'll still be paying to park, but we'll do it using the Passport phone app.

"In some municipalities they have done away with paper passes, coin meters and pay-and-displays altogether," said the report prepared by Brent Lamming, the city's director of community services.

"It is the recommendation of staff that in future all pay-and-displays and coin meters will be removed gradually as the public becomes more comfortable with the Passport technology," Lamming wrote.

The report was actually intended to deal with a separate issue, a proposal made earlier this year by Ward 1 Coun. Sandra Hollingsworth, to produce time-limited, pre-paid parking passes on a lanyard that could be hung on a customer's rear-view mirror.

City staff turned thumbs down on Hollingworth's suggestion to provide the short-term passes to Queen Street retailers to hand out to their customers.

"It's not to give free parking," Hollingsworth told her fellow councillors in February.

The passes would be paid for "by the retailer, or whoever," and presented to shoppers who might have forgotten to put money in the meter or to use the parking app on their mobile phones.

Hollingsworth said she got the idea from some Queen Street business establishments.

"Sometimes the best solution or idea comes directly from a retailer that understands customers and retailers needs around parking," she said.

But a poll of Downtown Association businesses found little support for the idea: 

• 75 per cent of downtown businesses felt there was adequate parking either all the time or sometimes
• 74.8 per cent of customers parked in lots while 25 per cent parked on the street
• 58 per cent of respondents owned retail stores
• 70.8 per cent spend less than 30 minutes parking
• the biggest challenge was how to pay for parking and the pay and display units
• 62.5 per cent felt they were impacted by available nearby parking (split between availability and potential for a ticket to be written)
• it was felt it was fairly even split between coin meter, pay and display and two-hour lot options
• 81.8 per cent stated they would not be willing to pay for clients parking

"Given that the Downtown Association board did not support issuing parking passes with limited time and over 80 per cent of the business stated they would not be willing to pay for parking for clients, staff are not recommending a limited time parking pass pilot," Lamming said in his report to Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city councillors.

"Further, there may be enforcement challenges involved with limited term passes for parking," Lamming said.

Lamming pointed out that the city's mobile Passport parking app now has 2,053 users.

"Staff continue to recommend the use of the mobile Passport application, which can be used anywhere on Queen Street using Zone 3768," he said.

"The app is very easy to use and is connected to a credit card. It offers the ability for users to stop at multiple locations without having to add time to coin meters or pay-and-displays given the one zone [3768]."

"Parking sessions can be paid for on one’s phone and extended time can be added remotely. The Passport Parking app also warns users when their time is running low and a top-up option is given. Users may also keep track of their parking history and receive email receipts."

City staff have recently cut the number of pay-and-display parking machines from twenty to just 16.

"Of the 16 pay-and-displays that remain, 10 are currently in the process of being upgraded to allow tap EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) capability which will reduce some of the operating challenges experienced in the past," Lamming says.

Monday's city council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.