Paid parking initiative at medical centre approved by council

Council directed Town Staff to investigate the feasibility of implementing a paid parking program at the Maitland Valley Medical Centre (MVMC).

A report to Council was presented at the February 24 meeting suggesting two options for paid parking.

Council agreed to implement option one, which plans for it include a parking arm for the paid parking program at a rate of $3 per visit (flat rate).

The paid parking lot would be operational 24/7, with 80 spaces only. According to the report from staff, it is estimated that annual gross revenue would amas to $399,360.

According to the Deanna Hastie, Treasurer, the impacts of any sort of fee was considered as part of the review.

“I know Council was originally thinking that residents could be exempt, but when we looked at the types of arms or metres available, it made most sense to us to have the arm, which means no one is exempt,” explained Hastie.

“In order to address Council’s wish regarding the residents, we are proposing that the additional revenue that this will bring in, could be applied to reduce property taxes.”

According to Hastie, the Town of Goderich is still paying the debt from the expansion of the health clinic that occurred in 2017.

Revenue from paid parking could go towards making those debt repayments, with any additional amount of revenue, Council would direct where those funds would be better utilized.

With funding from the provincial government stagnant, Goderich Council finds itself in a difficult position when it comes to generating revenue.

“We don’t always look to download costs onto residents,” admitted Councillor Allison Segeren.

“We are trying to find additional ways…we realize that these are fees, but we try to find fees that are reasonable.”

Option One can make parking more accessible, compared to Option Two where all parking would have come with a fee.

With Option One, for those who cannot pay for parking or don’t want to pay for parking, there are still lots of free, accessible parking within the vicinity.

This feasibility study had included the adjacent streets to the MVMC and Alexandra Marine and General Hospital (AMGH) parking lots.

These proposed paid parking programs are a result of a solution for potential revenue stream aimed at recovering costs from non-taxpayers who use the facilities.

In the report to council from Sean Thomas, Director of Community Services, Infrastructure and Operations and Deanne Hastie, Treasurer, it was recommended to only implement paid parking in the MVMC parking lot.

This was due to the complexity of integrating on-street and off-street parking into a combined program.

According to the report, paid parking at MVMC would provide the largest consolidated public parking area in the vicinity.

Although paid parking at the medical centre will bring in more revenue to the Town of Goderich, allowing for debts to be paid, members of Council admit this was not an easy decision to make.

“Based on principle alone, this isn’t something I agree with,” admitted Councillor Vanessa Kelly.

“I think we are forced to charge these fees, but I don’t think people should have to pay for access to services that are a necessity.”

Kelly mentioned that paying for parking at a medical centre can penalize those who are marginalised such as seniors, low-income individuals, those who are sick or don’t work full-time.

Yet, Council understands that it must find ways to recoup money that is no longer available due to different tiers of government not passing that down any longer.

“We do have to maintain these services, and it’s a very difficult decision,” added Kelly at the February 24 meeting.

“I would lean towards option one…but on a matter of principle alone, it’s not something I support in general.”

During initial exploration AMGH was interested. However, after a meeting in 2024, and reviewing operational needs of both options, the complexities outweighed the potential benefits of a shared paid parking program.

Option one – a parking arm and flat rate fee within the parking lot of the MVMC - is expected to generate meaningful revenue for the Town of Goderich. The selection of a lower fee is intended to ensure it is not seen as a barrier to receiving health care services at the facility.

It was noted that there would be no exemption for Goderich residents.

Although the paid parking program has been approved, many details remain unconfirmed. This includes implementation date, allowances for people being dropped off and picked up, or delivery vehicles making deliveries to the health centre.