Borough may switch to Pay'n Go parking

"We're in the process of testing the system that was supplied by Stationnement de Montréal<@$p>-the new system of parking meters used in Montreal-in our Ouimet Street municipal lot," said borough spokesman Paul Lanctôt, pointing out that the current meters are about 25 years old. "We're studying different products on the market and meeting with different companies, but we're also looking at the experience of Stationnement de Montréal<@$p> to find out what's better and more efficient."

Unlike boroughs in the former city of Montreal, Saint-Laurent, as well as Outremont and Verdun, former municipalities with meters on their territories, gets to keep its parking meter revenues. It collects about $165,000 annually. However, parking fines are sent to central city coffers. Montreal brought in $23.2 million in parking fees last year, nearly one-third of which was used for the city's cleanliness campaign.

The switch to computerized Pay'n Go stations could bring in even more because leftover time is not passed on to the next person using the space. Montreal is prepared to add another 600 new meters, mainly for the downtown area, in addition to increasing parking rates, as a way of offsetting its budgetary shortfall.

Rates, however, may be hiked. "An update is in the offing," said DeSousa. "As part of our review of the parking meters, we would also be looking at our tarifs. That's something that hasn't been touched since 1990." At the moment, parking fees along Decarie are in effect from Monday through Friday between 9 am and 6 pm, at a rate of $1/hr, up to a maximum of two hours. The rate is the same for the Ouimet lot.

Metered hours may be modified as well to include Saturdays, something the merchants along Decarie might be happy to hear. "The store owners complain that there is not enough space because people from Laval and the North Shore park on Decarie all day [on Saturdays]," said Lanctôt.