There will soon be a need to pay for on-street parking on Saturdays in the downtown cores of Halifax and Dartmouth.
The municipality has announced Saturday, July 18 as the start date for the new parking charges. Paid Saturday parking will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. as of that date in parking zones B, C and H.
The first hour of parking will be free, followed by a flat rate of $2 per hour.
As with parking on weekdays, drivers will need to start a parking session at a paystation or through the HotSpot App.
“The change is intended to help manage high weekend demand, encourage turnover of parking spaces and improve access to short-term parking,” read a media release from the municipality. “This will make it easier for residents, visitors and customers to access nearby shops, services and destinations.”
The move to paid parking on Saturdays was part of the most recent municipal budget.
Workers are in the process of posting signage around the downtown in advance of July 18.
Business leaders have called out the decision, saying that it is a “terrible idea” that won’t “incentivize people in coming downtown.”
Sue Uteck, executive director of the association, says a proposed district benefit parking study that would’ve involved her organization’s consultation never happened, and now businesses will need to deal with the prospect of higher parking fees and paid parking on Saturdays.
“The frustrating part is (that) this tax went ahead without the benefit of this report,” adds Uteck. “(And) this is the second time in two years they raised the rates by 25 per cent and now added (paid) parking on Saturday, so this is a direct tax on people coming downtown.”