The City of Brantford is working on developing a phased strategy for incorporating parking meters into the downtown core. This would mean that some of the areas that are currently free street parking would then have “pay and display” parking meters, similar to the devices that are currently found in parking lots just off-campus.

“Right now, the proposal to phase in meters is an unfunded capital project,” said Mike Bradley, Manager of Parking.

It’s budget time for the City of Brantford, and like other departments the Parking department is reviewing their budget. When that is done, the proposal for meters in the downtown will be made to Council for funding. Bradley aims to present the proposal at the end of February of this year.

Bradley however has doubts, and thinks there is a low confidence for the proposal to be passed at council.

“Council has a lot on their plate right now. It’s hard to say if it’s high priority.”

Parking meters are part of a larger Downtown Master Plan developed in 2008. In the Master Plan, the incorporation of meters were suggested in order to “bring in revenue for the City” and to help encourage a higher turn-over rate for parking spots.

Turnover for parking spots was identified by Bradley as a strong motive for the proposal, as current motorists are prone to parking in the same spots time after time – making it difficult to find a spot to park.

It is not yet clear what the exact strategy is for adding meters to the core. The Parking Department is still in planning the exact process that will occur, and what areas in downtown will have meters incorporated first. The aim is to start meters on the streets in 2010 and finish the phase plan at the end of 2012.