{"id":713598,"date":"2026-06-04T02:44:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T02:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/713598\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T02:44:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T02:44:38","slug":"no-more-free-15-minutes-city-facility-parking-fees-being-mulled-in-edmonton-edmonton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/713598\/","title":{"rendered":"No more free 15 minutes, city facility parking fees being mulled in Edmonton – Edmonton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drivers in Edmonton could soon be paying to park in more locations, if a proposal headed to the city\u2019s urban planning committee moves forward as part of upcoming budget discussions.<\/p>\n

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A report set to be considered next week outlines potential changes to the city\u2019s parking program (Scroll down to read the report.)<\/p>\n

The proposals include eliminating the current 15-minute free grace period in paid parking zones, updating parking rates and introducing paid parking at several city-owned attractions.<\/p>\n

The report also proposes a pilot project requiring drivers to pay to park at facilities such as the Muttart Conservatory, the Edmonton Valley Zoo and Fort Edmonton Park.<\/p>\n

The plan would see the first hour remain free, with each subsequent half hour costing $1 up to a $5 daily maximum amount. Free parking as part of an amenity membership, packaged and managed through HotSpot, is proposed as an option.<\/p>\n

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The possible changes are raising concerns among some downtown business owners, who say parking frustrations are already affecting customers.<\/p>\n

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Audrey\u2019s Books, located on Jasper Avenue, has seen several parking rule changes over the years. Manager Kelly Dyer said other changes the city made in recent years has already had a negative impact.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey took away the evening free parking and Sunday free parking, which was a definite incentive,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n

She said customers regularly complain about parking and worries additional costs could further discourage people from visiting downtown or making quick stops.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery city needs a thriving downtown and to encourage people to come downtown,\u201d Dyer said. \u201cI think even just a free 15 minutes parking is definitely something that might help.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mayor Andrew Knack said council is aware of those concerns as it weighs potential adjustments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHearing that concern \u2026 that\u2019s part of what needs to be considered,\u201d Knack said.<\/p>\n

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He said the city is reviewing all options as it looks to balance user fees and property taxes in the next budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how we\u2019re approaching this budget, to say what\u2019s the right ratio for user fees versus property taxes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to the report, if all the proposed changes are implemented, annual parking revenue could double to an estimated $10.4 million by 2028.<\/p>\n

Knack said efforts to keep property tax increases down are driving the review of programs like parking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen for increases on our property taxes the last four years can\u2019t happen going into the next four years,\u201d he said. \u201cThat means looking at every single program.\u201d<\/p>\n

For some small businesses, however, the prospect of higher parking costs is concerning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does feel like they\u2019re nickel and diming at this point,\u201d Dyer said.<\/p>\n

The report will be discussed at city council\u2019s urban planning committee meeting on Tuesday, June 9.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Drivers in Edmonton could soon be paying to park in more locations, if a proposal headed to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713599,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194294],"tags":[49,48,194381,23752,144355,110696,258588,134,1890],"class_list":["post-713598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-downtown-edmonton","tag-edmonton","tag-edmonton-budget","tag-edmonton-city-council","tag-edmonton-parking","tag-money","tag-traffic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}