City will require you to pay for parking - starts August 4th.

News 100 blueBy Pepper Parr

July 29th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

 

The city administration has been hoping to see some light at the end of the tunnel – the hits on the revenue side for the city during the State of Emergency were hurting.

Parking MMW + Brian Dean with head of meter

Marianne Meed Ward, before she was elected Mayor holding one of the last coin operated parking meters in the downtown core. Brian Dean – chief cheese for the business people locally lends a helping hand.

The Mayor had the city “$18 million in the hole”, which wasn’t true. It was more like $4 million with the Finance department looking for ways to lighten the financial burden of the pandemic on the citizens of the city.

They announced earlier today that the free parking in the downtown core comes to an end of August 4th. They put it this way: “…payment will be required in the downtown for on-street parking and in municipal parking lots starting Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020.”

Recent observations, review of occupancy data and feedback from the public indicate that parking is steadily increasing to pre-COVID levels. It is anticipated the increase in parking demand will continue as most businesses reopen since Halton Region entered Stage 3 on July 24, 2020.

Visitors using downtown parking are encouraged to use the HONK Mobile app. Honk offers touch-free payment and reduces the number of people touching the same parking machines throughout the day.

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward said: “As our community begins to enjoy more activities with Stage 3 reopening, we’ve seen an increase in parking demand and desire to manage supply and revenues. Council listened to the voices of the business community and Downtown Parking Committee to reinstate paid parking. Discussions are also underway about returning some of the 20-minute curbside pickup to regular paid parking.”

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2 comments to City will require you to pay for parking – starts August 4th.

  • The Publisher’s Comment sent to Anne and Dave Marsden by e-mail was a little different to this after asking the Gazette to check out the response to our delegations at the 2016 Audit Committee and Council meeting and attaching the nolmination paper: A publisher needs to be up front with readers not say something in an e- mail but print something different. The comment made to us was:

    “This is such nonsense. You are in the process of losing what little credbility you have left.”

    We have no objections to posting what we sent to the Gazette through twitter so readers can see for themselves the information provided to back up the comment.

    Publisher’s comment: We didn’t want to embarrass the Marsdens. They are embarrassing themselves. The issue that they have is with the 2014 election. A slight change was made on a document filed with the provincial government, Marianne Meed Ward didn’t make the change. The document was prepared by the Clerk at the time – a small error was made (a signature was put in the wrong place) and it was crossed out.

    The Marsdens have chosen the wrong hill to die on.

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  • How many of us can have confidence in a mayor who is $14 million out even if it is a guestimate especially after showing she had difficulty reading with her completed and certified nominaton paper for the 2014 municipal election: Section 88 (5) of the Municipals Elections Act establishes the nomination paper is a public record. Secton 15 (b) and (c) of the Archives and Rcordkkeeping Act 2006 SO2006, c. 34 Sch. A applied to the 2014 Meed Ward nomination paper:

    Section 1: A public record shall not be:

    (b) altered so as to delete information from it
    (c) made illegibile

    This nomination paper and two others were submitted to the Audit Committee in terms of 3 out of 7 certified nomination papers for elected candidates in the 2014 election should never have been certified and, therefore, their names should not have appeared on the 2014 ballot.

    .A copy of the Meed Ward nomination paper is being sent to the Burlington Gazet for verification of these facts and publication (it is a public record and accessible to all). We would have posted but we don`t have the tech savvy to know how to do that!

    Publisher’s comment: The Gazette is not going to be a party to the differences the Marsdens have with the current Mayor.