Ottawa’s on-street parking rate changes are starting next week. Here’s what to expect

Beginning on Monday the City of Ottawa’s first parking rate changes will come into effect.

Hourly rates will increase across the majority of on-street parking throughout the city. The changes are related to demand-based pricing, the municipality said in a press release.

While city council approved this pricing model in 2019, a report that went to the Transportation Committee said the city’s Rate Setting Guidelines, hourly rate adjustments “should be responsive to inflationary increases.”

Starting on Monday, parking zones currently set at $3.50 per hour will rise by 50 cents — to $4 per hour.

Current parking zones with rates lower than $3.50 will remain the same or decrease.

Based on Ottawa’s 2024 budget, the maximum hourly rate is $4.50 — meaning Monday’s increase will not hit the maximum rate.

“Periodically, parking rates will be reviewed and adjusted up or down by fifty cents as warranted to ensure that parking is appropriately priced to best support businesses, institutions, and tourism,” it wrote in the release.

Currently, there are three different on-street parking rates across Ottawa; $1.50, $2.00 and $3.50 per hour.

An estimated 85 per cent of on-street parking — around 3,200 spots — are in a $3.50 parking zone, said the city.

According to Ottawa, while the majority of on-street parking zones are seeing an increase in rates, some zones will actually drop by 50 cents.

This decrease in hourly rates can occur within a zone if parking spots recorded less than 50 per cent occupancy during peak times over two consecutive data collection periods.

“This process will increase rates where demand for parking is very high to encourage turnover and create more available parking, and decrease rates where demand for parking is very low to increase demand.”

The last rate hike occurred in 2019, with parking costs rising from $3.00 to $3.50 per hour.

While rates are reviewed each year and adjusted if needed during the budget process, hourly rates can only rise by 50 cents at a time, said Ottawa.

On-street parking rates could see changes annually, based on the zone, noted the city — adding that inflationary effects have been accounted for in this parking rate adjustment.

With files from CityNews Ottawa’s Andrew Osmond.