Spring Garden area businesses call out paid parking approval on Saturdays

CITYnews halifax / By Steve Gow

A group representing businesses in the Spring Garden Road district says they are frustrated by a Halifax council decision to approve paid on-street parking on Saturdays in downtown Halifax.

On Wednesday, the municipality’s budget committee approved the move along with a 25 per cent increase to parking fees, saying parking fees in Halifax have not changed since 2023.

Paul MacKinnon, Chief Executive Officer of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, called the decision a “terrible idea” and said it won’t “incentivize people in coming downtown.”

The Spring Garden Area Business Association is echoing that sentiment, adding that consenting to a 25 per cent jump in parking fees will hurt businesses in her district on the busiest shopping day of the week.

Related:

• ‘A terrible idea’: Halifax to raise parking fees, bring paid Saturday parking

Sue Uteck, executive director, says a proposed district benefit parking study that would’ve involved her organization’s consultation never happened, and now businesses will need to deal with the prospect of higher parking fees and paid parking on Saturdays.

“The frustrating part is (that) this tax went ahead without the benefit of this report,” adds Uteck. “(And) this is the second time in two years they raised the rates by 25 per cent and now added (paid) parking on Saturday, so this is a direct tax on people coming downtown.”

While the paid parking issue still needs budget approval, which will happen in late March, Uteck believes it is a “done deal.”

However, she says it is also not her group’s only concern, as she has also got her eye on musings by certain HRM councillors about the possibility of adding a transit tax on top of the commercial tax, which will hurt local businesses further.

“Our battle is to get council just to stop and realize that the downtowns and main streets are the lifeblood of the cities,” says Uteck. “And if people start packing up to leave, you are going to have an even bigger tax issue than you have now.”