City moves ahead with digital payment for street parking
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The City of Brandon is moving forward with a plan to add the option of digital payment for street parking.
City council gave first reading to a bylaw amendment at its Monday meeting to adopt a system that would allow motorists to pay for parking with their cellphones, typically through an app or online.
The bylaw amendment would allow for both digital and coin payment initially. Parking meters in the city currently take only coins.
Earlier this year, the city agreed to move to digital parking, citing a need to modernize. A request for proposal was sent out late last month for a company to implement and manage the city’s digital parking system.
In the RFP, the city said the current system with coins has a usage rate of 20 per cent, “highlighting the need for a digital alternative to better serve customers.”
Other cities, like Winnipeg, have had digital options for years. Winnipeg last year removed all cash payment for street parking.
City of Brandon staff said in January that most people don’t walk around with coins anymore, and digital parking allows for easier use.
“Digital payments have become the standard method of transaction today,” said a staff report included in Monday’s agenda package. “Failing to adopt this form of payment may deter people from using downtown services and businesses.”
In January, Ryan Nickel, the city’s director of planning and buildings, said the eventual plan is to go completely digital.
Monday’s staff report said a transitional period, with both payment options, would be in place in 2026 and 2027. Further bylaws may need to be amended afterward.
The report said having both options is inefficient and costly for the city.
The bylaw would also increase parking limits on a portion of Rosser Avenue between Seventh and 11th streets from one-hour to two-hour parking.
Council passed first reading of the bylaw without discussion. For bylaws to be changed, council has to approve three readings.
Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he imagines there will be more outreach and talk between staff and the public “in the next little while.”
» alambert@brandonsun.com