Today, Wednesday, September 16, 2020, Downtown Charlottetown Inc. (DCI) Executive Director, Dawn Alan issued the following statement regarding the City of Charlottetown’s planned parking fee increase on October 1, 2020:
“DCI spent the past, many months, working to create consumer confidence, encouraging the community to come back downtown to ‘Support Local’. Small businesses have endured great difficulty and lost revenue during this COVID 19 crisis. We as business organizations and all levels of government need to do all we can to support business as we move into recovery; and in doing so cannot put roadblocks or deterrents in the way. This is not the time to increase parking fees in the downtown. DCI asked, in April, and continue to ask the City to put such initiatives on pause for discussion with stakeholders and reconsideration in 2021.”
Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce CEO, Penny Walsh-McGuire added:
“This is not the time to increase parking fees in Charlottetown. The raised meter rates are a major deterrent for individuals to travel downtown to shop, eat and do business, while additional parking garage fees cause further financial strain for the many local businesses just trying to get by.
While these rate changes were part of the City’s budget plans in April, economic conditions have changed drastically since this time and the onset of the pandemic. It appears the City decided to proceed with increasing their parking fees without acknowledging our new economic realities or considering the additional cost burden it will have on small local businesses. We urge the City to reverse this decision.”