Increased rates, fines looming as Kamloops tentatively moves ahead with new parking strategy

Parking in city-owned surface lots between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday – excluding holidays – will cost $2 more a day or $10 more for a monthly pass. There will be no changes to hourly or daily rates at the two municipal parkades, but monthly rates will increase by $10 as well.

“We have a parking management system that is not financially viable and we either have to increase the rates or increase taxation to put it into the program,” Will Beatty, the city’s community services manager, told CFJC Today. “You don’t historically see [taxation] in municipal parking programs.”

“We intend to replace the infrastructure that’s currently downtown and introduce these bylaw changes for June 1.”

There will also be a slight increase to event parking rates for Kamloops Blazers games and concerts at the Sandman Centre, though not as much as initially proposed following backlash from city council.

“It was decided to go from $4 to $6 instead of the $20,” Beatty said, noting that decision was arrived at following consultation with the Blazers. “It would have been great way to contribute money to parking reserves while also looking at cost-sharing initiatives as we’ve seen in other communities.”

Beatty said the plan is to phase-in the parking management plan over the next five years, assuming city councillors give their final approval.

“There wasn’t a lot of debate a committee, and it seemed like they were happy with the recommendations and the consultation,” Beatty said. “We’ll look to get that to council as soon as possible.”

“The intent is to get to a space in which we can operate and maintain our lots by painting lines and curb management and all of those other things so we can start paying for those through the parking reserve, making sure we have the best parking lots in Kamloops.”

Five-year plan for parking changes in Kamloops (Image Credit: City of Kamloops)

Changes this year will also include updates to the city’s pay parking infrastructure and a doubling of parking fines as well as increased enforcement.

Parking tickets will now set you back $80, though fines will be reduced to $40 if paid within 24 hours and $60 if paid within 30 days. Fines for serious violations like blocking a fire hydrant or a crosswalk increase to $100, with reduced amounts of $50 and $75 if paid within 24 hours and 30 days respectively.

“The understanding is that you’re going to pay for parking when you’re in a prime spot and if you don’t do so you’ll receive a ticket and the city will look to collect on that,” Beatty said, noting the current fine structure is not serving as a deterrent.

“We’ll do so by way of normal collections of us asking for money. If we have to go to court, we will go to court or we’ll send it off to a collection agency.”

North Shore Parking

This is also the decade when paid parking on the Tranquille Road corridor is finally expected to take effect, but it is not likely to happen before 2027. That’s because the city’s residential parking permit program is being reviewed to address spillover of vehicles into surrounding residential neighbourhoods on the North Shore.

“We understand the value of parking. We understand the scarcity of parking but we also understand that you can’t have people parking for extended lengths of time in single spots and expect yourself to have a vibrant corridor as well,” Jeremy Heighton, the executive director of the North Shore Business Improvement Association, told CFJC Today.

While he’s expecting some pushback when parking meters make their way across the Overlanders Bridge, Heighton added the business community in that part of Kamloops stands to benefit.

“For too long, we’ve had this ‘free attitude’ about parking but it is a valuable resource,” Heighton added. “The goal is to do as much education ahead of time to ensure that people are informed about why its occurring and what the impacts will be and that we understand how to mitigate those impacts.”

“It’ll be about creating an understanding that this is not a detriment of the community, but actually a help for the community.”

You can find a full breakdown of the rates and changes, as well as other information about the parking management plan here.

by Victor Kaisar

Increased rates, fines looming as Kamloops tentatively moves ahead with new parking strategy

North Shore Parking

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