Big boost in on-street parking spots in the works for Mississauga

Mississauga is planning to significantly increase the number of on-street parking permits it provides across the city in an effort to meet what officials say is a rapidly growing demand.

Citing the impact of population growth, the city’s efforts to add an array of housing options and a change in behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, City of Mississauga senior staff are recommending that city-wide on-street parking permits and city-wide lower driveway boulevard parking be implemented by late 2025.

In a report to be tabled at Wednesday’s meeting of general committee, acting transportation and works commissioner Sam Rogers notes the aforementioned pressures have “created demand for additional on-street parking opportunities in residential neighbhourhoods.”

The report notes the city issues more than 61,000 on-street parking permits each year, on average, while at the same time doling out 31,500 parking tickets annually.

That “indicates there is a high demand for additional parking options,” Rogers wrote in his report.

“The proposed on-street parking permit program will offer daily/overnight, monthly and annual parking permits through a combination of free and paid options that will be offered through an online digital platform,” he added.

Increased parking options are a must, city staff say, due to the fast-growing demand for such spaces brought about by “the pandemic, population growth and the focus on creating additional housing options through additional residential units, triplexes and quadplexes.”

In developing the proposed City-wide On-street Parking Permit Program, Rogers said staff conducted a detailed review of Mississauga’s existing on-street parking permits and also looked at what surrounding municipalities do in terms of on-street parking for residents.

Residents and others were also included in the information-gathering process, he added.

Currently, the city offers several types of on-street parking permits and allows residents to park for free for as many as 70 days per year.

In his report, Rogers notes the proposed fee structure for the new plan “was designed to not be cost-prohibitive for residents, but ensure the price of parking isn’t low enough to increase auto dependence while incentivizing other methods of transportation.”

It’s estimated the new on-street parking plan will generate around $1.4 million a year, the report stated.

The staff report concluded the growth in housing options in addition to other factors “requires that new parking programs be introduced to manage the supply of parking in neighbourhoods in a flexible and controlled manner.”

Further, the proposed plan “will unlock curb space in residential areas to accommodate short- and long-term parking demands as Mississauga introduces initiatives to address the housing crisis,” the report reads.