Parking revenue pierces $1-million mark
Revenue from Whitehorse's parking services topped $1.1 million in 2010, city officials reported Tuesday.
Revenue from Whitehorse's parking services topped $1.1 million in 2010, city officials reported Tuesday.
And if you've paid a parking fine this year, it's all thanks to you.
In 2010, funds from parking meter collections added up to $520,000.
Tickets for overstaying in a two-hour zone and other small fines amounted to $51,000.
Parking meter fines amounted to $376,000 for early payment and regular fine collection.
An additional $152,000 was reaped in court-levied fees, for those who failed to make payment within the alloted 3 1/2-week period.
Both meter costs and parking tickets have gone up since 2009.
"If we look at the parking meter collection figures for 2007, it was $277,000. In 2010, it was $520,000,” said Robert Fendrick, the city's director of administrative services.
"Part of that is because in 2009, we eliminated dimes and nickels in the meters, so it's just quarters, loonies and toonies now.”
In 2009, the city also doubled parking ticket charges, boosting them from $5 to $10 for early payment and from $10 to $25 for late payment.
"For $5 per day, people just thought they were getting cheap parking,” said Fenrick.
"The whole purpose of a parking meter is to turn over parking spaces, so with low fines, people take all day, whereas with the new rates, we have a better turnover.”
The new ticket costs have also sped up payment times.
"I have been talking with finance (officials), and we are writing more tickets, but the revenue hasn't gone up proportionally,” said Dave Pruden, the manager of city bylaw services.
"I think people are starting to pay their tickets quicker.”
Perhaps predictably, most of the money goes back into parking and parking infrastructure.
"A lot of the funds go to general revenue and a lot goes to the parkade reserve,” said Fenrick. "The revenue could be used for land, building, or any parking-related project.”
Those projects include the purchase and installation of new meters and the funding of a special vehicle, currently slated for the 2015 budget, which has " about six mounted cameras, taking pictures of licence plates,” said Fenrick.
"If you are unfortunate enough to be photographed in the same place for too long, you'll get a ticket in the mail.”
During the Christmas season, however, paying your tickets can be a charitable act.
"Between Nov. 28 and Dec. 9, if you get a ticket of $10, you are allowed to donate the equivalent value in food to city for charity,” said Fendrick.
This year's charities of choice are Kaushee's Place, the local women's shelter, and the Whitehorse Food Bank.
Regardless of where the money is going, however, Whitehorse's three full-time bylaw officers seem to be keeping busy.
Tuesday's court docket listed more than 200 fines, which could net the city up to $10,000.
Comments (18)
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Billy Polson on Nov 24, 2011 at 12:20 pm
The City needs the money. Of course they were going to do this. The Yukon has been discovered. Lots of southern thought 'up here' now (see what I did there)with more folks here from south for obvious reasons e.g. wicked eco adventure, hunting, mineral exploration, high paying government jobs, etc.
With that comes development e.g. more streets, sewage, public infrastructure, etc.
All other Cities in North America have Capitalized on its citizens, so they could provide the stuff people need and want.
Too late for run for City Council this year.
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northone on Nov 24, 2011 at 12:19 am
north of 60: Yes, there is currently all day parking outside the Main Street corridor but earlier this year, the city, with surprisingly little opposition, passed a downtown parking plan that will completely eliminate all day parking in all of downtown over the next few years. Then what are we to do? Not all of us live on a bus route, never mind how slow and inefficient the buses are, and riding a bicycle is not realistic year round.
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not for long on Nov 23, 2011 at 8:52 am
North of 60, I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I would like to point out a couple of things. First, the CoW's long term parking plan includes eliminating ALL free parking in the downtown area other than beyond 7th avenue. Second, it is not fair to assume that downtown workers and downtown shoppers are two different groups of people... it is those folks that work downtown that will get lunch, coffee, browse for something to do, and run their errands at lunch time. They ARE your shoppers, and businesses would do well to remember that. Do you think we have more than a handful of tourists between October and May? Nope!
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north of 60 on Nov 22, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Before the meters were installed the downtown workers would tie-up most of the available parking places.
People who work downtown can find plenty of all-day free parking a few blocks from the downtown core.
The exercise would probably do them a lot of good.
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DG on Nov 22, 2011 at 9:42 am
I don't even bother with main street except for going to my bank. Even that is a headache usually.
What I can get on main street except for the banking that requires in person I can do at the other end of town where there is free parking or at my house where I pay a mortgage.
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R Duncan on Nov 22, 2011 at 8:06 am
No need to be snide, north of 60. Has your stash never run out?
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Not just shoppers on Nov 22, 2011 at 7:12 am
It's not just about shopping for more than an hour and getting a ticket (and why only an hour?).
Where in creation is a person who works in the downtown area supposed to park? Even if you plug the meter all day long, you will still get tickets because the offense is parking longer than the alloted time - regardless of whether you pay for it.
Finding new ways to bend city residents over the barrel is not the answer. There needs to be a long term PARKING solution that is not ridiculously expensive and that does not rely on the transit system as a factor to pressure people out of driving to the downtown area.
The city should be supporting citizens and tourists alike to park, walk around, browse the shops and spend their money without worrying that their meter has run out. If you make it a pain, I (and countless others) will shop online, then park for free at the mall to pick up my parcels.
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YukonBarry on Nov 22, 2011 at 3:37 am
Free parking would have the opposite effect for business downtown. People working downtown would take all the spots, leaving potential customers going directly to the big stores at the north-end of downtown.
I find it funny that anyone who posts on any electronic bulletin board would complain about "electronic monitoring" of anything.
The city needs a parkade. Maybe free for the first hour, then a reasonable rate after that. If it were free there would be the same abuses as before.
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north of 60 on Nov 21, 2011 at 11:07 am
It doesn't take a lot of smarts to keep a few parking meter 'tokens' in the car. Every once in a while I sort the quarters out of my change and put them in the center console. There's no excuse for parking fines if you use your head for more than a hat rack.
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Robin Anderson on Nov 21, 2011 at 6:24 am
I can't tell you how many times I have gotten a ticket on Steele between first and 2nd...quite often when 75% of the meters do not have anyone parked at them! Drives me nuts. I don't have a problem paying for parking if there is no parking available, but why do you have to pay a fine for an expired meter when there is clearly NOT a shortage of parking.
This is about a serious revenue generator for the City that is about to get even more serious if they go to this electronic monitoring system. Does this type of revenue generation and enforcement really reflect the wishes of the citizens of Whitehorse? I don't think so.
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Rebecca Duncan on Nov 20, 2011 at 4:49 pm
And eliminating nickles and dimes in the meters has turned many of us into offenders. I can't tell you how many times I have parked perfectly willing to plug the meter, only to find I have only nickles or dimes in my wallet. That's when the ticket becomes really offensive.
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Mick on Nov 19, 2011 at 6:21 am
This is a joke; assuming this will get done as usual here in Whitehorse (zero professionalism); The system will not be setup properly, not maintained properly and as a result people will get more fines. Remember; now it will be an IT system and the parameters will be easily changed. Be 0.001 second over time and you'll have a fine....As long as the bureaucrats have more money to waste.
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Billy Polson on Nov 19, 2011 at 2:41 am
Meter readers have a s----y, pathetic job.....now they get to do it on their asses. That sounds like Whitehorse.
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flyingfur on Nov 18, 2011 at 8:16 am
Parking IS free...if you are not a Yukoner and/or don't have Yukon plates on your vehicle. Bylaw officers were given instructions not to ticket out-of-territory vehicles...those with out-of-territory plates. Whitehorse is a funny place; you can pitch a tent on the government's lawn or park your trailer in Walmart for as long as you like...just don't let your meter run out if you are downtown. Luckily if you pay the ticket immediately instead of taking advantage of your right to question the ticket in court you get a discount. How is that even legal?
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riiiight on Nov 18, 2011 at 4:13 am
What the article above does not say, is how much the whole "parking regime" costs in bylaw officer salaries, court costs, administration costs, supplies, etc.
Parking should be free - period. Think outside the box people - and figure out a way to enable people to park away from the meters downtown - and no - taking your silly buses is not an option.
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Thomas Brewer on Nov 17, 2011 at 2:26 pm
Awesome comment Danielle.
Instead of being proactive, by providing more parking for those WHO ACTUALLY WORK DOWNTOWN or those who choose to not shop at the big box stores and keep our hard earned dollars in the local economy, our city chooses to fine us and increase fees (across the board).
Transit is a joke, and cycling is only an option (for those that have to be presentable for work) for 4 months of the year. Our taxi's are prohibitively expensive, although they're not quite as sketchy as they used to be.
How many hundreds of thousands of our tax/fine/fee dollars went into parking studies the last decade when most of us know that a parkade on Steele Street between Second and Third Ave (4 stories please, make best use of our precious downtown land!) is the only reasonable option.
Why is there never any progress out of COW, only hot air?
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fred norris on Nov 17, 2011 at 10:10 am
it appears that the current meter and ticketing system is working just fine. Instead of purchasing a truck-mounted camera to spy on its citizens, the city should put this money to a more tangible use, like snow removal. This is a winter city after all....
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Danielle Nadine Daffe on Nov 17, 2011 at 5:45 am
Wow, a perfect example of the bureaucratic machine that is modern day fundamentalist capitalism - create a reason to create work for and sustain your raison d'etre.
They couldn't spend the money making a free parking parkade? Good heavens no, we must put out more meters, must invest in more ways to give out tickets and collect money - instead of just doing a better job at spending the money in the first place; or being a town that is friendly to people who want to park without the stress. Good heavens what a bunch of horse ****.
I think I will apply for a job in a remote community somewhere in Northern Russia or Alaska, somewhere where things are like they were in the good old days - economy and enterprise - but the good old fashioned way; based on supply and demand, not more, more, more, always more!!
Arg!
Danielle N. Daffe