The city’s plan to start charging residents who park on the street outside their homes if they live on roads with time-restricted parking will start Feb. 1.
City council approved the timing Monday, after giving the plan the nod last summer.
Under the plan, residents will have to pay $30 per year for a set of parking permits if they live on streets where there are time restrictions posted for parking. Lost permits will cost $5 to replace.
The areas covered by the plan include the North End (around Prospera Place), east of downtown up to Gordon Drive, the neighbourhood surrounding Kelowna General Hospital, as well as the areas around Kelowna Secondary School and Okanagan College on KLO and the Landmark office tower complex across Highway 97 from the Parkinson Recreation Centre.
The permits will allow residents to park and be exempt from the time restrictions, restrictions the city says it plans to get tough in enforcing from now on. With a permit, a vehicle will be allowed to be parked on the street in the same spot for up to 24 hours.
Residential parking permits are currently free but the city announced in July 2012 that the new charge would be introduced, in part, to help pay for the increased enforcement of parking time restrictions. It says a fee-for-service residential permit program is in line with other municipalities in B.C.
Under the plan, two permits for an address will be issued as well as one temporary permit for a guest. Additional permits can be purchased depending onthe stret frontage of the property. The $30 fee will cover all the permits issued for a property. For more information, contact the city.
Residents will not have to buy the new permits until the free ones they currently have expire. The current free passes are good for a year.
The city expects to raise $5,000 this year in revenue from the parking permit program and $15,000 next year. The larger amount in 2014 is reflective of the staggered start for residents, as many may have several months left on their existing free parking permit.
