Contact City of Edmonton RE Parking Permit Program Changes

The City of Edmonton is making changes to the Residential Parking Permit Program. No meaningful engagement was conducted in our area, despite reports suggesting there was. Please visit New Residential Parking Program - Curbside Management Strategy Update - Urban Planning Committee - March 19, 2024 (escribemeetings.com) for more information on the changes.

Northlands Permit Parking area will be eliminated altogether, leaving the residents of Cromdale and Viewpoint vulnerable to uncontrolled parking during Major Stadium Events and events happening at Borden Park.

Commonwealth Stadium Permit Parking area will be reduced in size by 30%, and a new annual fee of $120 per year is being implemented for those residents living south of 115 Ave (within 800m of the “traffic generator”). Parking permits will be required and/or new parking rules will be enforced 365 days per year, not just days with Major Stadium Events taking place. The 2 vehicle permit limit/household will remain. Residents in multi-unit dwellings will now be eligible to purchase a parking pass.

The changes will take effect on MAY 31, 2024. We must act quickly!

The next Urban Planning Committee Meeting is scheduled for May 22, 2024 at 9:30am.

PLEASE EMAIL ALL CITY COUNCILLORS TO VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION TO THESE CHANGES.

COPY AND PASTE EMAIL ADDRESSES:

ashley.salvador@edmonton.ca; erin.rutherford@edmonton.ca; aaron.paquette@edmonton.ca; jennifer.rice@edmonton.ca; keren.tang@edmonton.ca; andrew.knack@edmonton.ca; anne.stevenson@edmonton.ca; michael.janz@edmonton.ca; tim.cartmell@edmonton.ca; sarah.hamilton@edmonton.ca; jo-anne.wright@edmonton.ca; karen.principe@edmonton.ca; amarjeet.sohi@edmonton.ca

COPY AND PASTE EMAIL TEXT:

As an Edmontonian who lives near the Commonwealth Stadium and Northlands Parking Program Areas, I strongly oppose the changes accepted by City Council on March 19, 2024. 

It is wildly unacceptable to impose a fee structure for a program that was previously free and operated largely to benefit residents living in affected areas, especially in the face of an 8.9% property tax increase. The impending changes clearly do not serve the residents and are merely another way for the City to extract money from its citizens while offering us a solution to a parking problem we didn't have.

The areas surrounding Commonwealth Stadium and Northlands are quaint residential areas that do not routinely see large volumes of traffic or drivers wanting to park, outside of Major Stadium Events and other events occurring at Borden Park. It therefore defies logic to impose the new parking permit requirements on a 365-day basis, as opposed to maintaining enforcement exclusively during major events. The addition of a 2-hour parking limit on our residential streets also defies logic. How will people carry on with daily activities when they are constantly having to move their vehicle after 2 hours in fear of receiving a ticket? How will our residents welcome visitors to their homes and communities when they can only park for 2 hours before they receive a ticket? This policy only serves to stifle growth and vibrancy in our inner-city area. 

The  City claimed it used "online engagement opportunities" from April 5 to May 2, 2023, of which it received an embarrassingly low response of less than 6000 residents between the online survey and visits to the Engaged Edmonton webpage. For a City with a population of over 981,000 that equates to roughly 0.6% of the total population. This simply does not make the grade for effective engagement on a decision of this magnitude.

Additionally, the City claimed to have "mailed postcards to residents in 19 neighbourhoods affected by the changes", yet somehow Parkdale, Cromdale, Alberta Avenue, McCauley, and Bellevue/Virginia Park were not included in the campaign. We saw no lawn signs, no social media posts, and no direct engagement with Community Leagues in the area. Our Neighbourhood Resource Coordinator was also not directly engaged during the process. 

The changes accepted by Council are not in alignment with the City's Neighbourhood Revitalization Plan, which aims  "to improve the livability of Edmonton’s mature and established neighbourhoods", including McCauley and Alberta Avenue. These fees and program changes decrease the livability of our area, particularly for those residents in low income categories or those on fixed income such as seniors and students who may not qualify for the discounted rate. 

I demand that Council immediately reject the changes to the Residential Parking Program set to take effect on May 31, 2024, at least for Commonwealth Stadium and Northlands areas, and implore the Urban Planning Committee to head back to the drawing board on this topic, starting with real and proper engagement with Community Leagues and Residents in our area.