Sept. 7, 2022 – For immediate release:

Mayoral candidate Rana Bokhari today pledged to impose a levy on parking spaces that are currently blighting the city and channel that money into transit and active transportation.

Winnipeg is scarred by surface parking lots that do nothing to bring our neighborhoods together – in fact, they make things worse. Surface parking lots don’t just look awful, but they contribute to safety concerns, discourage pedestrians and active transportation, and diminish the vitality and connectedness of our neighborhoods, said Rana.

“As I’ve been campaigning, I have spoken with so many small business owners who are the lifeblood of our communities. But one of the issues they’ve raised repeatedly is that they wish they could utilize and optimize their full properties.”

However, City of Winnipeg by-laws require businesses to maintain a minimum number of parking spaces – whether or not there is readily available street parking.

As well, the city requires a certain number of spots based on the business’ square footage – resulting in massive parking lots that contribute to urban sprawl and climate change.

Meanwhile, in downtown Winnipeg, surface lots generate revenue for the owners but do not
generate much income for the city.

To combat these problems, Rana will do two things:

1. Implement new zoning by-laws to establish upper limits on the number of parking spots needed for a local business. Simultaneously, Rana will lower the minimum number of spaces required by half.

2. Implement a $100 annual levy on the required number of parking spots for businesses, and a $350 annual levy on parking spots that exceed this number.

Based on estimates done in 2006, there are about 92,000 unmetered parking spots in surface lots in the city. This will generate about $20 million annually in revenue for the city, which will be plowed back into the active transportation and transit budgets.

Over the years, as the number of surface parking lots decrease and are converted into productive spaces, parking levy revenues will be converted into property tax revenues.

“My vision for Winnipeg is to build a vibrant, connected city that will encourage small businesses to grow and increase our density, in a sustainable and sensible way,” said Rana.

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To schedule an interview:
Elisha Dacey
204-290-8009
team@rana4wpg.ca

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