LRT Park and Ride Fee Deferred

As part of finalizing the tax rates (the last step in our annual budget cycle) Council debated the merits of charging for parking at the city’s LRT lots. The Journal has posted a good synopsis here. The short version is we decided not to for now.

I think most members of council, myself included, realized that more information was needed before we shift away from our free parking policy.

To that end, council directed City Administration to bring us an analysis of: potential impacts on ridership (and fare revenues); the logistics of collecting the fees and managing access to the lots; and the state of the bus feeder service to LRT, particularly in the Northeast.

It was also noted by the mayor and others that there is significant value tied up in this land, and that eventual transit-oriented development could actually yield more riders than any parking lot over time, so we asked for information about the land value and development opportunities as well. (Many cities assemble land around transit hubs, supply parking, and then phase it out over time to replace it with development.)

I supported putting the question off until we get all these details, but I’m still inclined to recover some revenue to offset the costs of the land and maintenance. Whether $3/day is fair also merits study.

I can’t forget, however, that many of the people who use these lots come from outside Edmonton (15-25%, according to a 2008 survey) and have not paid to build or maintain our transit system through their property taxes.

Honestly, many of our citizens who park and ride now could either walk or use bus service but don’t because the easy parking is entirely subsidized by the tax base.

Much was also made of the poor quality of bus feeder service in the North East, which is debatable. If it’s the case that the bus service needs improvements I am all for directing the proceeds of any parking fees into improving the bus service.