Parking tickets issued to attendees of a charity fundraising event prompted council to revisit its paid parking rules for waterfront parks and ask staff if relief can be given to people attending fundraisers.
Tasked with creating a plan to provide exceptions for paid parking, staff came back to the July 18 council meeting with a pilot project proposal.
Staff recommended a case-by-case approach to the parking relief, and suggested the best way to manage approval was by using the town's existing event permit process, and next year's community recreation and grant program. Effectively, staff recommended treating free and discounted parking as an in-kind donation to the charity and the fundraising event.
Council gave the project its unanimous support during the July 18 meeting.
Under the pilot project, charities and fundraiser organizers can apply for up to 10 free parking permits for event organizers for the time period requested to set up, conduct the event, and clean it up.
The town could also provide a 50 per cent discount code for the duration of the event up to one day allowing people to pay for parking as usual with a smart phone and the HotSpot app, but at a reduced rate.
A smartphone would be required to get this discount.
Staff said the 50 per cent discount acknowledges that event parking takes away from available parking for residents and reduces the budget revenue from non-residents. A discount code could also be abused if it is shared with visitors who are not participants and not attending the event.
Collingwood residents can park for free at waterfront parks by getting a yearly pass through the HotSpot app or through town hall.
The staff report on July 18 also noted event organizers would be encouraged to use other park facilities like Harbourview Park where parking is free.
A reduced and/or free parking pass does reduce the amount of revenue the town collects from its paid parking program, but staff could not estimate how much of an impact it would make.
Staff, however, were supportive of sacrificing revenue for a good cause.
"Local charities are an integral part of the community and requiring individuals attending these events to pay for parking may place an undue financial burden on these vital groups' activities and fundraising initiatives," states the staff report.
