Duane Hicks
If you’ve been parking recently at the Portage Avenue lot behind the post office, be aware: you’ve once again got to pay to park there.
Local bylaw enforcement officer Patrick Briere told the Times that the pay and display parking machine is back in working order and will start enforcing illegally-parked vehicles there.
“It was out of order for a good chunk of the summer and we were working with the manufacturer to get the problems resolved,” Briere noted.
“It is back in operation as of [Wednesday] and we are putting flyers on people’s vehicles reminding them it is back in operation,” he said.
“On that flyer, as well, is the rules.”
Briere explained that if you are parking in Portage Avenue lot:
•the first two hours are free (you do not need a ticket on your dashboard);
•if you’re there for more than two hours, pay and get a ticket from the machine and put it on your dashboard (the cost is $1 per hour or $2 a day); and
•evenings, weekends, and holidays are free.
Monthly and annual parking passes also are options.
The monthly fee is $36.90 while the yearly cost is $370.70, with the added bonus of having a designated parking stall, noted Briere.
The Fort Frances Dental Centre and Nor-West Animal Clinic rent stalls for their staff.
Briere said he and fellow bylaw enforcement officer Arlene Byrnes found that when they stepped up parking enforcement in the downtown core this summer, there was an influx of vehicles from Scott Street to the Portage Avenue lot.
And when they started putting out flyers on Wednesday, notifying vehicle owners that the parking machine was fixed and they’d start ticketing illegally-parked vehicles, the number of vehicles dwindled.
They also found the vehicle owners who have chosen to still use the lot quickly have gotten back into the routine of paying.
“We wanted to educate and let people know we’re back in operation,” Briere said. “‘Here’s the rules just as a reminder.’
“And then next week, we will back to regular enforcement again.”
