Seems that this city simply HAS to spend our money or it doesn’t think its doing its job! How about trying to SAVE some instead?

“The City believes the new license plate recognition program, together with beefed up enforcement and a new bylaw that allows towing, will bring in $467 thousand (net) revenue.”

Over what timeline? 1, 5… 10 years? That’s also assuming all the parking perps don’t learn their lesson. If people start using parkades, ticket revenue will go down significantly. Are they including parking fees in parkades in the cost recovery?

Maybe you didn’t read the part where it says “will bring in $467k net revenue.”

This means if accurate, it will bring in more revenue than it costs.

Go to fakelicenseplate.com and order your out of province cover. People will find a way around it and how much will it cost them when people challenge those tickets? How is that toll bridge license plate system working?

I for one would avoid going dntn unless where I’m heading to has free parking.

Less people going dntn due to this

More people dumping garbage along side of road due to dumping fees

What else is the City going to do ??

I thought the City had no authority to make people pay their parking tickets? Or is that changing?

Personally, I think they should bring in parking boots and tow vehicles for repeat offenders.

This whole issue is just plain BS. There is no parking problem downtown at this point in time, and it will be a long time before there is one.

This is about the City trying to generate revenue. The problem with the License Plate Recognition System is that they will have designated areas that is limited to two hour parking, not just the parking space. So if you were at the Northern Hardware, and then went and parked on George St., if you were still in the **Two hour Zone** you would get a ticket or be towed. That’s my understanding. If it applied to specific parking places, then I would support it.

JB. The towing company would assess a towing charge that you would have to pay in order to get your car back. A portion of this charge would be paid to the City as a **Service Fee** and that’s how the City would get their money, without having to go to court.

Sine Nomine wrote: “Maybe you didn’t read the part where it says “will bring in $467k net revenue.”

Of course I read it. Did you not read what I asked? It doesn’t say over how long a time period that revenue is collected.

Plus it also says the City “believes” it will bring in that revenue. In other words, their guessing at best.

So I don’t get it. They only want people to spend a maximum of 2 hours downtown? Are they not trying to attract people to downtown? Weird

One thing for sure..this will not attract people to the downtown. Less people, less collections. Spend spend spend.

this goes hand in hand with the huge increase for monthly parking in the downtown parkades/lots starting January lst.

Kudos to all the parties involved for coming up with a workable and reasonable solution. Now can we talk about transit?

I am about ready to boycott downtown. This is asinine.

I go downtown to go to a restaurant for dinner and maybe a coffee on a Saturday morning. I always find ample parking usually pretty close to where I want to go. The issue is people that work downtown that don’t have off-street parkade style parking passes. If you have a job downtown, you should be supplied a place to park. If you can’t, then find another job. I think some of the onus for staff parking should be on the employer. If I work for a lawyer downtown, I would assume he would take care of parking. Running away from your job every 2 hours to go and move your car can’t be classified as being a very efficient use of your employee’s time.

Sine Nomine wrote: “Maybe you didn’t read the part where it says “will bring in $467k net revenue.””

Nowhere does it say that the $467 thousand is over a period of one year.

Once again, we have a half baked number of figures.

1. A cost of $450,000 to purchase the system as well as put up signs.

2. A net income of $467 thousand … per year?

So, since it is a net income I am going to make some assumptions here.

1. the NET income is $467,000/annum
2. the NET income covers the initial capital purchase of the system.
3. the NET income covers the maintenance of the system
4. the NET income covers the cost of operating the system (staff time + vehicle(s)?
5. the NET income covers the maintenance of the signs.
6. the NET income covers all other expenses such as awareness raising of the process, court costs, etc.

Now, if I have that right and we are going to get anywhere near $467,000 per year for switching over to this method, WHY ON EARTH HAVE THEY NOT DONE THIS BEFORE?????

Giving that a timeline of 10 years over which the system will be amortized, the City will make $4,670,000 over that time.

In fact, that is more than they are getting from the special levy to operate the DBIA.

Does it have an automatic smow brush to remove the snow off of rear license plates? Or would a employee have to hop out of the vehicle each time?

the city is determined to make money on downtown parking – the parkades/lots are going up 40% starting January lst. A large number of parking spots (across from new RCMP building) have been lost. I agree wth PGbguy1234 and have been lucky that my employer does pay for my parking downtown – but that parking is now becoming hard to find – particularly in the open uncovered lots (it will now cost almost $100 to park in the covered parkades). One of the major arguments to the whole downtown parking fiasco are the complaints about employees taking up parking spots and just moving their vehicles around. For the City to jump their monthly parking rates coinciding with license recognition is pretty rude as they obviously see this as a cash grab now for the people that actually do follow the rules and park off street.

People who live in and around Prince George who happen to be unlucky when they park downtown have $467 “thousand” dollars of disposable spare change to part with that easily? Over one or ten years, that’s a lot of wasted dough. But then again, we the people are willing to spend the same or more for the casino, smokes, liquor, lottery tickets, marijuana and such. But then again it’s only money. Right? Easy come, easy go.

The NDP tripled the fine for obstructed license plates a few years ago to $167. Buy a brush at the Crappy Tirestore then don’t be lazy. The RCMP on a do nothing day might nail ya. Could happen.

It is a so-called cash grab only if one parks more than 2 hours. For less time than that.

We will have to get license plates for the handicapped like they do in parts of the US, otherwise the reader will not see the handicap hanger in the window.

It is job creation for those who make the readers in some other location than PG … and it is job creation for the locals who will be employed driving or walking the reader around the streets.

Just think of all the healthy physical activity lost to those individuals who normally run around moving their vehicles a few times per day.

All that sprinting and stair climbing gone.

;-)

“Does it have an automatic smow brush to remove the snow off of rear license plates? Or would a employee have to hop out of the vehicle each time?”

Don’t be silly. This is Prince George, they’d have to hire a second full-time truck to drive ahead of the plate reading truck, and have a driver to drive the truck and a brush man who gets out the sweep off the plates.

PGCoffee: “and have a driver to drive the truck and a brush man who gets out the sweep off the plates.”

And how long will it be before someone claims a ‘brush man’ scratched their bumper? Not long I would suspect. ;-)

yup – and then a safety commitee to fill out forms and set policy for the brush man to be in the street. Then a second brushman to fill out JHA and incident forms. Add in a couple of spotters for traffic while brushing. Maybe a flag person or two on narrow streets. A coordinator to keep this all together and a manager to look after the coordinator… Bingo! a real city initiative!

Maybe a few homeless people at some intersections on a snowy day. with a brush instead of a squeegee. Flip them a looney or twoonie to prevent a $167 dollar fine on a slow day for the Royal Canadian Tax Collectors. Might try it myself, come to think of it. After all, it will be tax free dough.

Good Grief – Where do they ( council ) come up with this stuff ??
Hopefully they will put incremental $ 500 G ( what a stretch ) back into the Snow removal budget