As of the beginning of February, the City of Lethbridge will be implementing changes in parking fines and parking enforcement hours.
As of Thursday, February 1st parking enforcement hours in the city’s downtown core will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., changing from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Along with giving residents an extra two hours of free parking, the city will also be increasing the grace period the parking metre can be topped up to seven minutes, an uptick from the three minutes currently in place.
Parking fines in the downtown core will see an increase to $40, and outside of downtown parking fines will be $50. However, if tickets are paid within 10 days of the ticket being issued the fine will drop to $20 for downtown offences and $15 for offences elsewhere.
The changes were put in place following consultation with the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone, the Heart of Our City Committee and several business owners. The changes are part of a two-year pilot project approved by the council and after a year they will receive an update on how things are going. Parking Coordinator Phillip Berg says the primary goal with the changes is to establish “compliance, education and increased incentives for our Downtown businesses.”
“As we have said throughout this collaborative process, our engagement group members all have a common goal of seeing a vibrant downtown. Through our discussions, we worked together productively to find some compromises, propose creative ideas and generate some new incentives for parking Downtown.”
Chair of the HOCC, Lorien Johansen, says the changes to the parking program are an acceptable path that benefits all involved including administration, downtown businesses, and all the residents of Lethbridge.
“The new fine structure is on par with other comparable municipalities in Canada, and with the many available options for compliance, residents will find it easier than ever to participate in this program and avoid the non-compliance penalties. Better than that, the new program includes exciting incentives to visit our downtown urban core.”
The city will be putting together an education campaign to roll out along with the changes to educate the public.
As there are more than 1,900 publicly accessible parking spaces in Downtown Lethbridge, there are convenient parking options for all budgets, vehicle types and destinations. The city started looking into increasing parking fines a year ago, following the 2023 to 2026 Operating Budget deliberations in November 2022, where it was first proposed parking fines be increased.
