By Cecilia Nasmith
Judy Sherwin's idea of a discount on parking tickets for Cobourg residents will be examined, following her presentation of the idea at Monday's council meeting.
As a senior, Sherwin is not a fan of parking downtown, as there are generally two options – use the free time-limited lots that are a bit of a walk away from any place she wants to be, or feed the parking meters.
She decided to opt for convenience during a recent trip to her bank, but the line-ups and the need to ask a few questions of the teller kept her longer than she planned. As she drove away, she noticed the parking ticket under her windshield wiper.
She went to Victoria Hall to pay the $25, was told she had a much better attitude than the old gentleman who had just left after paying his ticket, and saw (upon leaving) a young lady paying a ticket she hoped to conceal from her mother - $75 for the Town of Cobourg from two seniors and a young lady, she pointed out.
She often hears Cobourg described as the Feel Good Town and exhortations to Shop Downtown. To park downtown and do that, she said, the two choices for parking are unsatisfactory for seniors in a town where there are plenty of them.
Especially when these seniors are paying ever-higher costs for everything else, she pointed out, including property taxes.
Meanwhile, Sherwin said, that beautiful Cobourg beach is so full of out-of-town visitors that many Cobourg people avoid it altogether.
While the town has an app that lets you feed a meter remotely if there's danger of running over the time limit, she doubts many seniors can use it. However, as she described it, those out-of-towners on the beach (eating lunches they brought from home) take full advantage of that convenience before heading home and leaving their garbage behind.
“They don't shop here, but the people who live here, shop here, eat here just keep paying,” she complained.
Out of consideration for the people who live here or otherwise pay taxes in Cobourg, she asked if (upon proper proof of residency) these people might get a $15 discount on the $25 parking tickets.
“I do hope you give this some consideration, because there are a lot more people who feel the same way I do but don't want to take the time to do anything about it,” Sherwin urged.
She said she does like the idea of paying it forward and plunking in a quarter for a parking meter here and there that is in danger of expiring. Councillor Brian Darling said he makes a point of putting more money in than necessary in case he gets delayed – and it's sometimes a treat for the next person to occupy his spot to find time on the meter.
But something more organized is needed, she said, and it's too easy to miscalculate time when feeding the meter. Long line-ups, chance encounters and delightful conversations, checking out something in a store window that catches the eye – they all add up and take time.
Councillor Emily Chorley wondered - if they take that suggestion, and overstaying the time on a meter results in only a $10 fine, would people just decide not to feed the meters at all?
“I don't think anybody really likes paying a parking ticket,” Sherwin said.
