Calgary’s downtown parking rates third highest in North America

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A brand new report finds parking in downtown Calgary is costlier than in every other Canadian metropolis, however the excessive value could also be a easy case of provide and demand.

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The Jones Lang LaSalle report reveals that, adjusting for alternate charges, solely drivers in New York and San Francisco pay extra for month-to-month parking charges in North America.

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Calgarians who park on a month-to-month foundation pay a mean of C$366. By comparability, the report discovered drivers in Toronto ($347), Vancouver ($300) and Montreal ($165) all paid much less.

For a continental comparability, Calgarians pay US$275, or simply $65 lower than the going charge in San Francisco of $340. Solely New York, with a mean month-to-month value of $570, was costlier.

Mason Lam, vice chairman for Alberta with JLL, mentioned it comes right down to not having sufficient parking areas for the variety of autos attempting to park downtown. He mentioned in 2016, 161,000 autos entered downtown Calgary on a mean day, however there have been solely 32,000 obtainable parking areas.

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Because the pandemic and restoration, the variety of autos coming in has dropped by about 18,000 — not sufficient to decrease the worth.

“I feel from a cultural standpoint, Calgarians are fairly used to driving all over the place we go,” Lam mentioned.

Restricted transport, transport security provides to difficulty

He additionally mentioned the town lacked transportation in a few of its most populated and rising areas. He mentioned that with out a dependable and constant transport system, folks will depend on autos.

Lam mentioned different Canadian cities with decrease parking charges do not essentially have extra stalls, however do have higher transportation. These cities’ transportation methods additionally serve their bed room communities.

“However in case you take a look at Calgary, there are not any trains going to Cochrane,” he mentioned. “There may be nothing about Airdrie or Okotoks. We now have not arrange any infrastructure there.”

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Lam mentioned Calgarians additionally depend on autos due to security issues throughout transportation.

The town is searching for to deal with these issues by growing the variety of peace officers and safety guards engaged on transit. There are additionally plans to extend the frequency on main routes within the coming 12 months.

Parking charges assist infrastructure restore: CDA government director

Mark Garner, government director of the Calgary Downtown Affiliation, mentioned he isn’t satisfied there aren’t sufficient spots. He believes persons are choosy about locations that are not near the place they work, or that do not have quick access to the Plus-15 community.

“I feel there’s parking,” he mentioned. “You might need to park a block away, otherwise you might need to be on a floor space versus wanting protection primarily based on the seasonality.”

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In an emailed assertion, the Calgary Parking Authority mentioned it units its off-street parking charges primarily based on a mix of on-site occupancy and market charge evaluation to find out if charge changes or operational modifications are wanted.

Folks inspired to make use of transport, different transport: CPA

The parking authority additionally famous that it has provided promotions to deal with low occupancy when vital.

“Calgary Parking is exclusive in comparison with different parking suppliers as our total parking income is invested again into The Metropolis to assist communities and companies, by means of packages such because the Parking Income Reinvestment Program,” the assertion mentioned.

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The CPA’s web site says it is not going to create a big variety of new parking areas. A plan authorized by metropolis council limits the quantity of long-term parking within the metropolis middle to encourage folks to make use of different types of transport.

“The intent is to restrict the quantity of long-stay parking in favor of elevated transit or different transit use,” reads the CPA’s often requested questions.

The JLL report suggests that there’s some reduction for workplace employees. Because the pandemic and relaxed return-to-work schedules, parking suppliers are providing versatile two- and three-day-a-week passes that price lower than reserving a stall for a full month. CPA additionally presents a ten day per 30 days parking move.

brthomas@postmedia.com
Twitter: @brodie_thomas