One Bridgewater resident says the town isn’t doing enough to keep the public informed of changes to parking fees.
Catilin Doucette lives and operates her business beside the King Street parkade.
Changes to the tax structure have meant the elimination of a parking levy for downtown property owners.
Now, anyone who frequents the downtown area needs to pay $250 for an annual parking pass.
Doucette says that shifts the burden on to low-income people coming to work in town.
“I would’ve liked to see more public consultation. I would like to see reduced permit fees for people who are working and living here, who are low income, if not permit excusals.”
While the move will save landlords a great deal, Doucette says that doesn’t help low-income workers in the downtown.
“Penalizing specific low income people who are living and working here is not the solution. It’s up to mayor, town council, the town planner to consult with the public and figure out what the solution is. But it’s not this.”
Doucette says she wasn’t made aware of the changes and thinks others may be in the same position.
But Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell says the town went to great lengths to announce the changes.
Mitchell says they spoke about it on local radio and in print ads as well as on social media.
He says a mail out was delivered to all Bridgewater residents and council even spent an entire day outside the Royal Bank on King Street to ensure no-one was missed.
“In this case, it appears that someone might’ve got missed. I don’t know what more we can do. I do believe that at some point, there is a responsibility on the public to actually know what’s going on.”
Mitchell says the parking issue is always contentious.
“There’s no such thing as free parking. As we’ve said over and over again, it’s a $67,000 a year cost to the taxpayers. And our taxpayers have said our taxes can’t go up.”
Mitchell says the town removed the parking levy to allow landlords the flexibility to make improvements on their property.
He says in some cases, that can be thousands of dollars and buying a couple of parking passes for tenants shouldn’t be an issue.
Mitchell says while it may be inconvenient for businesses and residents to pay for parking, the cost is far less than having to provide and maintain their own.
Reported by: Ed Halverson
Twitter: @edwardhalverson
E-mail: halverson.ed@radioabl.ca