A report from Village staffer Andre Isakov is recommending council drops the idea of pay parking in Harrison Hot Springs.
The report cites a majority voice of disapproval from the community, from businesses and residents.
Pay parking in Harrison Hot Springs has been a hot button issue for the past several years, with some businesses in favour of the idea, and other strongly opposed. Most recently, the Village asked a pay parking company to study the issue and provide a detailed report on the costs and benefits pay parking would bring to the community.
Precise Parking's report based their proposal on the following: Paid parking in Harrison Hot Springs could cost fifty cents for 15 minutes, a loonie for a half hour or $8 for a full six hour stay, according to a presentation made to council by Justin Powell of Precise Parking in early January.
Precise Parking, a division of GoPark, is the same company which held an open house in December. They operate 713 machines for 44 clients in B.C. and three in Alberta. They are proposing installing 43 machines throughout the main area of the Village.
The staff report, which is on the agenda for Mar. 4 (tonight), states that it is "difficult to project pay parking revenue." While the report is written by Isakov, it is mentioned within that the recommendation stems from discussions at council's retreat, held two weeks ago in Mission.
The Village polled the community through a questionnaire and provided other avenues for feedback on the proposal. Of those polled, 54% reported they were not in favour of pay parking, 44% voted that they were in favour, and 2% didn't respond.In total, 267 questionnaires were returned. Of those, 232 were residents.
Mayor Leo Facio is expected to report on the retreat's discussions at tonight's meeting. It begins at 7 p.m. at the Village office.