Fewer hours, fewer tows proposed for downtown St. John's winter parking ban

The City of St. John's is planning to reducethe number of hours, as well as the amount of towingduringthe 2019 downtown winter parking ban in the city.

If approved, the ban would last from 4 to 6 a.m., instead of last year's 3:30 to 6:30 a.m. span, and vehicles would be ticketed, rather than towed, if left on the street when snow clearing is not required.

"Last year we were 100-per-cent tow, and this year we will tow when there's snow and we will ticket when we are not clearing snow," said Debbie Hanlon, councillor at large.

The 2019start and end dates, of Jan. 2 and March 31 respectively,would coincide with the ban imposed outside of the downtown area. Additionally, the city is pledging to ramp up marketing and advertising before the ban goes into effect.

• St. John's lifts controversial winter parking ban

City council will make a decision about the changes to the ban, which affects sections of Water and Duckworthstreets, at its Nov. 5 meeting.

2018 was the first year for a downtown parking ban, and the city pledged in the spring to revisit the pilot project.

"One thing we have to realize is that downtown St. John's is a living area. Not just nine to five. You know, there are bakers going to Rocket Bakery at 5 a.m.There are people going to yoga at 5:30 a.m.," Hanlon said.

"There are people who work in stores and let's not forget that there are people living downtown. So when we came up with this new plan we took into consideration everyone's concerns, as best we could."

In a press release Thursday, Hanlon noted the 2019 suggested changes came after speaking to local residents as well as downtown businesses and organizations, along with input frominternet-basedcampaigns.

Read more articles from CBCNewfoundland and Labrador