Two Beach schools to open for parking
Have a hard time finding parking in the Beach?
In the fall drivers searching for spots will find them at Balmy Beach Community School and Kew Beach Junior PS — but they’ll have to pay a fee.
The Toronto District School Board is following through with a 10-school pilot project to charge for use of their pavement property.
The venture is a way for the cash-strapped board to generate revenue to upgrade and repair aging facilities.
In 2007 the board approved a parking management strategy that included a contract with ParkSmart.
The project was shelved after city hall informed the board that an extensive site-by-site rezoning would have to be conducted in order to make the lots commercial.
The board found a way to get around all the red tape by calling it “visitor parking” rather than commercial parking. This bypasses the rezoning issue because paid visitor parking is viewed as a way of managing private property and therefore doesn’t require city approval.
The details are still being ironed out, but once the parking meters are installed, visitors to the school between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. will be charged for parking. Exceptions will include parking for school events, like concerts and parents nights and for groups renting the facility.
Parksmart will be responsible for maintaining the parking meters and for tagging and towing.
The initiative would not only generate revenue but give principals better control over who uses the lots and when, board facilities head Sheila Penny told the Town Crier in December.
“Especially in areas where school lots are close to commercial shopping or subway access, we find school lots often fill up with people who are trying to avoid parking charges and that causes issues and problems for operating schools,” she said.
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[url=https://streeter.ca/viewthread.php?tid=12683]TDSB pay parking stalls[/url] (February 2009)