(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
December 05, 2014 - 7:30 PM
PUBLIC TO GET BREAK AFTER YEAR OF HICCUPS
KAMLOOPS - A planned rate increase for downtown parking has been delayed a year because parking kiosks installed over summer failed on several occasions in the months that followed.
Delays getting the kiosks installed and fully operational, followed by problems with the sequencing and screens, as well as four different server failures, led staff to ask for the delay. Staff are now looking at possible fixes or upgrades to help offset any future issues, but in the meantime they asked council to defer the on-street parking rate increase planned for Jan. 1, 2015 by one year.
Several machines will be outfitted with coloured screens, which are considered more user friendly, but they have never been used in North America and staff will have to monitor how they function throughout the winter. The new screens come at a cost of $2,000 each, which means council will need to approve the additional cost if they do work out.
After the pay kiosks were installed late last year the parking rate doubled to $1 per hour and the intent was to increase that rate to $1.25 in 2015 and then to $1.50 in 2018. The revenue from the increased rates helps offset the capital and operating costs of on-street parking operations as well as fund the newly created downtown parking infrastructure reserve fund.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014