Last September, the City introduced paid parking along Richmond Road and Wellington Street West.

Residents and businesses were told this change would improve parking turnover, support local businesses, and benefit the community.

But many people in Kitchissippi have had a very different experience.

Last October, I personally visited more than 75 businesses and spoke with over 200 residents who were directly affected by the introduction of paid parking. I also hosted a community roundtable that brought together residents, employees, business owners, and stakeholders to discuss the impacts and identify practical solutions. The feedback was consistent: residents felt the rollout was poorly communicated, businesses were caught off guard, and the impacts on the community had not been fully considered.

Since launching my campaign, I've knocked on thousands of doors across Kitchissippi. Paid parking continues to come up in conversations with residents across the ward. Many people still have concerns about parking costs, ticketing, spillover parking on residential streets, and the impact on local businesses and neighbourhoods.

What I'm Hearing

Residents have told me about increased parking costs for visitors, confusion over inconsistent parking signs, and more traffic spilling onto residential side streets.

Business owners have told me that customers are frustrated by parking fees and ticketing. Employees who rely on street parking are facing new costs every day just to get to work.

Many people also feel they were not properly consulted before the changes were implemented.

Months after paid parking was introduced, many of these concerns remain unresolved.

The Numbers Raise Questions

The scale of the program is significant.

Between September 2025 and March 2026, there were 274,857 paid parking transactions in the Westboro and Wellington West area.

At the current parking rate of $3 per hour, if each transaction represented just one hour of parking, that would amount to more than $824,000 in parking revenue over six months.

During the same period, the City also issued 8,270 parking tickets. If all tickets were paid at the reduced rate, that would amount to more than $413,000 in fines. At the full penalty amount, it would be nearly $579,000.

Taken together, that means paid parking fees and ticketing could have represented between $1.24 million and $1.4 million in revenue during the program’s first six months.

That's a significant amount of money coming from residents, visitors, and local businesses.

As someone who believes in accountability and transparency, I think residents deserve clear answers about how that money is being used.

How much revenue is being generated through parking fees and ticketing?

Where is that money going?

What improvements are being made in our community as a result?

These are reasonable questions.

For far too long, Kitchissippi residents have paid more and received less.

My campaign is built around a simple principle: Our Fair Share for Kitchissippi.

Whether it's development charges, property taxes, or parking revenues, residents deserve to know that the money generated in our community is helping deliver better services, better infrastructure, and stronger neighbourhoods.

If residents and businesses are paying more, they should be able to see the benefits in return.

Practical Solutions From the Community

Rather than simply identifying problems, residents, businesses, and employees came together at my community roundtable to identify practical solutions.

The recommendations included:

• A 15-minute grace period in paid parking zones

• Paid parking hours limited to 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• Consistent parking rates and signage throughout the community

• Guest parking permits for residents on side streets

• Temporary employee parking permits during the transition period

• Delaying parking charges until the arrival of the LRT

• Free weekend parking

• Investment in side-street infrastructure to address spillover parking and driveway-blocking issues

These are practical, common-sense ideas that would help balance the needs of residents, businesses, employees, and visitors while supporting our local main streets.

Streets for Everyone

We don't have to choose between drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users.

Whether you walk, bike, drive, or take transit, our streets should work well for everyone.

That means transportation policies that are fair, practical, and responsive to the realities of daily life. It means recognizing that local businesses depend on customers being able to access our main streets. It means ensuring residents can welcome family and visitors without unnecessary barriers. And it means planning for all forms of transportation, not just one.

Good transportation policy should help people move around Kitchissippi efficiently. It should support our local businesses, strengthen our neighbourhoods, and reflect the diverse transportation needs of our community.

Continuing to Push for Improvements

Following the roundtable, I discussed the community's recommendations with the City and encouraged consideration of the practical solutions put forward by residents, businesses, and employees.

But there is still more work to do.

As your City Councillor, I will continue advocating for practical improvements to paid parking and sensible policies that reflect the needs of residents, businesses, and employees.

Kitchissippi deserves a strong voice at the table.

And Kitchissippi deserves its fair share.