Meaford is moving to eliminate paid parking at Memorial Park.
Council will consider formally scrapping the paid parking program at its meeting Monday, after deciding last month to do away with it.
The program was implemented in 2021 after an increase in park usage as a result of the pandemic, and as a way to help offset the increasing service costs and traffic congestion at the park.
Director of Operations Jessica Wiley says in a report, “The paid parking program also provided the opportunity to improve parking arrangements within Memorial Park, leading to fewer issues with visitors parking in inappropriate places, blocking camp access or causing dangerous passing locations on the main camp road, and reducing the difficultly for pedestrians and children to navigate the area.”
The paid parking program was expanded upon in 2022 to enable boaters to pay for launching their vessels in the harbour.
Meaford was able to rake in about $14,000 from the 2024 paid parking season, part of which was paid to the paid parking management company, and the rest is split between the Memorial Park reserve, and enforcement expenses.
Staff have been working to get resident passes for Memorial Park as the paid parking program comes to an end, as well as adjust all related signage at the park and boat launch.
The contract the municipality has with the paid parking management company ends next year.
Council will consider approving removing the paid parking program from Memorial Park during its meeting on Monday at 1 p.m.
