Metrolinx plans to convert tens of thousands of GO station parking spots from free to paid
As per The Global and Mail:
Metrolinx is pursuing a massive shift to paid parking at its GO commuter rail stations, internal documents show, with plans for the “forced conversion” of tens of thousands of free spots over the next few years.
The shift is planned to begin within months and will be a pricey change for many of the roughly 65,000 GO customers who drive to the stations. The vast majority of these passengers now park free and Metrolinx, the regional transit agency that operates GO in Southern Ontario, is bracing for pushback.
According to Metrolinx memos and a consultant report obtained by The Globe and Mail, the plan was set into motion late last year. During a private meeting in September, the agency board voted to pursue a “parking modernization” program that includes expanding paid parking.
A senior Metrolinx official said, however, that the specifics laid out in the documents may yet change. Chief planning officer Mathieu Goetzke said the agency-preferred approach has not been “completely approved” and that there was a continuing dialogue with Metrolinx’s political masters at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation “to make sure that they are comfortable.”
He stressed that any parking changes would be coupled with efforts to encourage other ways of getting to GO train stations. “We want to do [this] carefully, because we know it is a sensitive issue with … customers and neighbours and municipalities,” he said.
GO has 70,000 parking spaces, less than 8 per cent of which are reserved for customers who pay $98 a month. Metrolinx has long hoped to expand paid parking over the next decade, but the current plan is much more aggressive.
By September, 2022, the documents show, the agency would like to be charging for up to half its parking spots. Prices, which could fluctuate based on time of day or other factors, have not been determined.
Inducing some people not to drive to the station would free up parking spaces for the midday ridership GO is hoping to build, say the documents obtained by The Globe. And a shift away from driving to GO stations could limit the number of parking spaces Metrolinx will need to build to meet expected increases in ridership.
The documents also acknowledge there could be opposition from people living near stations, who may see more parking on local streets, and from current customers (some of whom might abandon transit rather than pay for parking), but argue that charging for more spaces would still net money.
Not charging for most parking has been the GO model for decades, a way to encourage suburban commuters to take the train into Toronto instead of driving. As a result, even passengers who live quite close to their station are accustomed to driving to it.