Victoria staff have retreated from a recommendation to extend pay parking on downtown streets into the evenings.

Last month, city staff suggested a variety of changes, including charging $1 an hour for on-street parking between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. and boosting the cost of on-street parking to $3 an hour from $2.50 in parts of downtown while making evening parking in parkades free.

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While the recommendation to increase the cost of many metered spaces downtown remains, the suggested $1 an hour fee for street parking in the evenings was dropped from a report going to councillors this week.

The report says the change was made after consultation with the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Victoria Business Association.

Chamber CEO Bruce Carter welcomed the change to the evening parking, but wanted to examine the report and consult with chamber partners before commenting further.

“I think the whole key with this is [that] it needs to be positive for downtown. The reason we charge for parking is to get parking turnover, and that’s actually supposed to be a positive thing for downtown and business,” Carter said.

The idea is to free up street parking in the evenings by making the parkades more attractive.

Coun. Lisa Helps, council liaison to downtown, supports the concept but said extending pay parking into the evening was too much.

“I think probably the ‘stick’ was too heavy, if you will, by saying 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. was going to cost,” Helps said. “Now, we have a bit of a lighter stick by saying we’re going to increase rates by 17 per cent in the higher demand on-street areas. That’s reasonable.”

“I think it’s a good compromise,” said Coun. Shellie Gudgeon a downtown restaurateur, adding that she is somewhat disappointed that the recommendation to charge for street parking in the evening was dropped.

“I think the approach is to encourage the use of parkades and we have to communicate that the parkades are safe,” Gudgeon said.

Mayor Dean Fortin said the issue of evening parking on downtown streets is less about finances and more about the perception of public safety.

“We, as a city, are looking for the opportunity to welcome people back to the parkades,” Fortin said. “We need to prove to everybody out there that the experience is different.”

The report notes that police calls for service to the city’s five parkades have dropped to a total of 160 in 2013 from 565 in 2007 as a result of such improvements as 24/7 security, better lighting and windows in stairwells.

The city plans to partner with the Downtown Victoria Business Association to provide “downtown ambassador” training for all parking services personnel and educational outreach to downtown businesses and their employees.

City staff recommend developing “a proactive communications and customer service program” on various aspects of parking in the downtown, including improved safety in parkades.

Many of the key recommendations from last month’s report remain and are recommended to now go to the public for feedback.

They include variable hourly rates (from $1.50 to $3 an hour) for street parking with time limits ranging from 90 minutes to all day; free parking in parkades after 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; eliminating about 200 paid and free street parking permits issued to Greater Victoria elected officials and staff and some businesses; making the first hour free in all city parkades; streamlining and reducing parking rates in parkades; and moving monthly, long-term parking to the higher floors of parkades.

bcleverley@timescolonist.com