London City Council has approved one hour of free street parking in the downtown core, as well as two municipal lots in Old East Village, until the end of 2024.
The one hour parking is a scaled back version of a COVID-19 incentive which allowed drivers to park for up to two hours in the city core, using a promo code on the HONK app.
The move was presented as a way to support London’s small businesses by attracting more shoppers, who might not want to pay to park for quick trips or small errands.
“Hundreds of millions of dollars of investment are coming into our downtown core by the private sector,” says Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis. “But, to the point of the small businesses… the Uber Cool store, Heroes, Attic Books, places like that… these one-hour pop-in parking opportunities matter.”
While the motion passed 11-3, some councillors thought it was time to end the free parking initiatives.
“My worry here is that we’re just going to keep extending it,” says Councillor Sam Trosow. “There’s a reasonable possibility that once we get into having people expect this from their HONK app, it will be very difficult to change it.”
Concerns about municipal lots
In addition to the downtown core, the parking incentive will include two municipal lots in Old East Village, a neighbourhood that has been undergoing efforts to revitalize in recent years.
While she voiced her strong support for the free parking incentives, Ward 4 Councillor Susan Stevenson shared concerns with her colleagues about the current state of municipal parking lots in the neighbourhood.
“Is there some requirement for a minimum standard to be upheld in a municipal lot?” asks Stevenson. “We are charging $2.75 an hour in a municipal lot that is full of tents, garbage, open drug use and social disorder of all forms.”
Although the council did not move forward with any further discussion of these issues, some in the Old East Village community share her concern.
“We have sent (City Council) pictures, we have sent videos of what goes on,” says Old East Village BIA manager Kevin Morrison, referring to incidents of people openly using and dealing drugs. “In fact, just last week, I sent a video to all council members. Not one of them responded to me”
Morrison also shares concern with the issue of excessive garbage. He says there are cleaning crews contracted and paid for by the BIA to clean private property, but he feels the city should also take equal responsibility for keeping the lots clean.
“It doesn’t give a good impression, whatsoever”
