CORNWALL, Ontario – Council received a report at their meeting on Monday outlining suggested improvements to parking services in the City of Cornwall.
The report was formulated by a working group that included members of Council and City administration.
Among the 13 recommendations are things like adding more 15 minute free parking stalls to the downtown, Le Village, and Cotton Mills areas of the city.
Another suggestion is to increase the hourly rate for paid public parking from $1 an hour to $1.50 an hour. That rate applies to paid public parking stalls where a car can park for a maximum of 12 hours. Paid parking hours are from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the report notes that this rate has not changed in 11 years.
Other new initiatives include the introduction of overnight parking, which would be $3 a night from the hours of 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. seven days a week, and possibly introducing 24 hour parking permits.
The proposed changes do not only affect parking however, the working group also suggests investing more in active transportation such as increased transit service and more bike lanes particularly in the Le Village and Cotton Mills areas.
All of the working groups suggestions will need to return to Council in the form of a by-law to be voted on for approval.
Council seemed impressed with what the working group had accomplished.
“We addressed a lot of issues that weren’t being addressed and I think it is equitable,” said working group member Councillor Eric Bergeron.
Councillor Carilyne Hébert suggested that this working group had done so well, that the model might be the way to go for tackling major issues in the future.
“This working group has gone above and beyond from what we asked for. I think the working group model is a way to go forward for the future of this Council. Having a small working group getting together and working it all out seems to be incredibly effective,” she said.
