Parking fine recommendations to return to Council later this year

​Parking fines are still in place for Lethbridge, but no increases will be happening at this time.

Lethbridge City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to direct Administration to work with the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) and the Heart of our City Committee to engage with their members and present new parking fine options moving forward. The results of their engagement will then be forwarded to the Economic Standing Policy Committee by end of Q3 of 2023.

Council on Tuesday also formally defeated the proposed changes to Traffic Bylaw 5834 by unanimously defeating second reading. The decisions were based on unanimous recommendations from the Economic SPC meeting on February 15.

As such, current fines will remain the same until new recommendations are proposed this fall.

"I am proud that our Council listened to the many concerns brought forward on this topic and have now directed our Administration to work with the BRZ and other stakeholders to come up with some recommendations to improve parking across the city," says Mayor Blaine Hyggen.

"I am pleased that folks with interests in the Downtown, and who were concerned about a drastic increase to parking fines, have been heard by Council," says Sarah Amies with the Downtown Lethbridge BRZ. "The BRZ is looking forward to collaborating with City Administration and the Heart of Our City Committee to work together with membership and colleagues to develop some innovative solutions towards enhancing the parking system across Lethbridge."

The City of Lethbridge offers a variety of ways to pay for parking. Those methods include coin, credit cards, re-loadable pre-paid cards and mobile payment. If a business wishes to pay for a customer's parking as an incentive, the Business Add to Plate Program is a great tool for this. With the program, a business can distribute parking to its customers without having to ever leave their desk or work area. Those interested in learning more about this program and how it can benefit your customers are encouraged to contact 311.