If you're paying for parking in Edmonton, you're probably the sucker at the table.
Edmonton is issuing fewer parking tickets than it did 15 years ago, even though we have more people, more parking zones, and way more parking sessions.
Parking tickets per month. ePark replaced the coin meters in 2016.
From 2016 to 2024, even though the number of ePark sessions jumped by 50%, the actual number of fines issued was 25% lower.
Our rate of issuing fines has halved in a decade.
Fines issued per 1,000 ePark sessions.
ePark was going to make us money
When Edmonton spent $12 million replacing coin meters with ePark, the city predicted that by 2018 it would increase annual revenue by $7 million. Instead, revenue remained flat, and fine revenue dropped by $1.5 million.
Fast forward to today, Edmonton has 200,000 more residents, more ePark zones, and longer operating hours.
Parking operations, from the city's budget data.
Yet, parking revenue is down $3 million, and we issue $4 million less in fines compared to a decade earlier.
Revenue from parking fines.
The house is set up to lose
The city admits it only checks about 10% of parking sessions, and they estimate their compliance is up to 25% worse than comparable cities that actually enforce their rules.
Big changes likely coming to parking in Edmonton. Here’s what it means for you
The report says only 10 per cent of parking sessions are being checked by bylaw officers, and compliance is around 70 to 85 per cent. It says in other cities with strong enforcement, compliance is typically closer to 95 per cent.
With a tiny $50 fine and a rate of enforcement that keeps falling, the best financial advice seems to be gamble.
Apparently, the house is set up to lose.
New rules, same enforcement
Now, the city is proposing parking changes like removing free 15-minute parking and adding paid to park at places like the zoo and the Muttart, saying it will double parking revenue by 2028.
Gee, that sounds familiar.
We don't need new rules to double parking revenue. Enforcing the existing ones would do that.
Councillor Ashley Salvador had the same thought. In March, she successfully passed a motion to examine whether parking fines and enforcement are actually working. We'll get those answers at the end of August.
That Administration provide a report on enforcement trends and penalty structures for Traffic Bylaw 5590, including but not limited to:
- enforcement information from 2015 to 2025, including annual ticket volumes, enforcement resources (including, but not limited to, tow lot capacity), most frequent offences, and key drivers of change in enforcement trends;
- a review of fine adjustments under Bylaw 5590, including when each fine amount was established or last adjusted, how their real value has changed over time, and any implications for deterrence;
- options to maintain the intended effectiveness of fines over time, including indexation using Consumer Price Inflation and/or other appropriate indicators; and
- recommendations for policy, bylaw, and/or fine schedule amendments to support deterrence and long-term efficacy, as well as a regular review schedule.
Moved by Ashley Salvador
Seconded by Michael Elliott
In favour (11)
As for removing the 15 minutes free in the meantime, I'd say park it.
The issue here isn't the other players at the table landing on free parking.
It's that we didn't charge them for staying at our hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place.
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