NEW WEST CITY COUNCIL ALSO INCREASED HOURLY PARKING RATES IN COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS WHICH COULD IMPACT POST-PANDEMIC ECONOMIC RECOVERY
New Westminster (August 29, 2022) : The New West Progressives (NWP) are calling upon mayoral candidate Patrick Johnstone and his Community First political allies on city council to reverse their decision to quietly jack up parking rates. Based on a staff recommendation, some residential parking permit fees will go up by as much as 33% in 2023.
“This Community First council simply doesn’t get it,” says New West Progressives council candidate Rick Folka. “Our small businesses and working families are just starting to recover from the pandemic and this is how Johnstone plans to help them deal with massive inflationary pressures?”
Earlier this year the NWP announced, as part of our small business economic recovery plan, if elected to council on October 15th, we would provide up to two hours of free parking in our commercial districts. All vehicles would be afforded one-hour complimentary parking, while electric vehicles would be provided up to two hours. This would help to encourage people to shop and visit downtown and other business districts.
“Johnstone said in a video message on the weekend that the issue of inflation was one of the reasons he decided to run for mayor,” says Folka. “If he’s so concerned about inflation, he certainly has an interesting way of expressing it.”
In 2023 residential parking permit fees will be increased from $33 to $44 for the first two vehicles. No additional fee increases are planned in 2023 for homes with a 3rd or 4th vehicle.
“For a mayoral candidate who claims to have an interest in getting cars off the road, it’s also perplexing that he’s targeting his latest tax grab at households with less than two cars,” says Folka.