Downtown Parking Rules Working

It was a year ago today new rules for on-street parking were introduced for the downtown. Electronic Licence Recognition software was brought and motorists were only allowed to park in the downtown for free for three hours, from 7 a.m. to five p.m. And it has had the desired impact for the City.
“Our off-street permits, or monthly permits, so far this year has increased by $70,000 dollars in sales,” says Fred Crittendon, the Manager of Bylaw Services. “Our tickets from over-time parking has decreased by 37%. A year ago, we were sitting at four thousand tickets. This year, we’re sitting at 2,500.”
And the revenues for the hourly rates has jumped from $80,000 to $170,000.
When the new rules were first discussed, there was talk of using the technology in other trouble spots. Crittendon says they have started to enforce the two-hour limit around University Hospital of Northern BC, but has yet to move to other potential hot spots, like CNC.