Edmonton motorists will spend more money to park in busy locations, have a shorter window for free parking, and need to pay for EPark stalls on Sundays starting next month.

Starting May 1, drivers will need to pay for EPark stalls between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. (instead of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) Monday to Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. For curbside parking, the first 15 minutes, not 30 minutes, will be free. Parking at 92 stalls in busy areas around Downtown, Old Strathcona, Kingsway and 124 Street will go up $1 per hour to $4.50.

Monthly rates are also going up to $350 from $315 in city-owned parkades. However, 68 other EPark zones in the city where there is low demand — some along Jasper Avenue, 101 Street, 109 Street and 96 Street — will turn into free stalls for a two- or three-hour window.

There will also be 22 public parking locations labeled as “parking for electric vehicle charging only.”

Although the pricing will change on May 1 “enforcement will be eased,” until May 15 to give the public time to adjust, said a city news release on Wednesday.

Pricing changes were unanimously approved by city council in December as it set the 2023 budget. It’s meant to bring in more money for the city and is expected to raise an extra $1.4 million of revenue annually.

At the time, Coun. Ashley Salvador acknowledged this is unlikely to be “super popular” but said it’s important to revisit given the city’s financial position, and this is meant to help speed up turnaround to make it easier for people to find a parking space.

The city says these changes “are consistent with other Canadian cities that have adjusted in response to parking demand,” said the news release.

‘Tough to swallow’ for businesses

Puneeta McBryan, executive director of the Edmonton Downtown Business Association (EDBA), said the changes are really challenging for small businesses.

“On one hand, we recognize that the city’s in a financial crunch and is needing to make sure they’re making the revenue they need to run the city,” she told Postmedia on Wednesday. “But on the other hand, they’re doing it — in the case of these EPark changes — at the expense of small businesses who, especially on the weekends and in the evenings, rely on customers who are driving Downtown and parking.”

“It’s really tough news to swallow that they’re going ahead with this.”

McBryan said there aren’t as many people taking transit Downtown as there used to be and many still rely on driving to visit.

“When we’re competing against suburban areas where there are also restaurants and small businesses to visit, and they have free parking lots, and malls and strip malls and in less dense areas, sometimes that cost comparison is enough to convince someone to go somewhere else instead of Downtown.”

She would like to see some of that money go back into Downtown. The idea of “parking benefit districts” — where revenues go back into the community where the parking is paid for — is being considered as the city works on its broader plan to revisit how curbside spaces are used.

A map of some of the parking zone changes can be found here, and a map of electric vehicle charging locations is here.

lboothby@postmedia.com

@laurby

Editor’s note: This story has been changed to clarify statements from the EDBA.