Councillor Trish Purdy said she voted against the motion when it was before the Transportation Standing Committee in April because she didn’t “see the point.”
Trish Purdy quoted a line from the staff report that said municipal staff attended a conference hosted by the Canadian Parking Association in October 2024 where a survey of municipalities in attendance found that none of them were actively considering a weight-based pricing structure for parking permits.
“Okay, two boroughs in Montreal. That’s not even a city. That’s not even a town,” Purdy said. “Outside Canada, we’ve got France, Paris. But they made the decision based on a referendum that their citizens voted for.”
Purdy said an increased fee would put an unfair financial burden on trade workers who drive trucks, health care workers who use vans for their jobs, and owners of electric vehicles, which weigh more because of their batteries.
“I am just not in favour of punishing people for choosing to drive a vehicle of their choice,” Purdy said.
Pickup fuckers always take 2-4 spaces depending on asshole level. Sounds super fair to me
Make the spots smaller so cars can fit but trucks need 2 spots. Work vehicles are that, for work, cars are for commuting.
If you do your running around in a truck you should pay for the extra space taken
It’s just common sense. Sadly a lot of people seem to lack it entirely these days.
It would be interesting to find out what correlation, if any, the hesitation of some councillors may have with the size of vehicle they drive? Or their close family drive?
Also, how many trade workers actually use those jacked up trucks for their trade? While someone in a regular sized vehicle trying to park can’t get a spot because those beast mobiles take up multiple lanes…
Vans are the superior choice for trades for the vast majority of trades. Keeps your tools clean and dry, thieves can’t see everything in the back, the floor is often lower than a truck bed making loading easier, they are usually better on gas than trucks of the same size.
But what would the plumber do if they want to went into the jungle for no apparent reason? They can’t do it with a van.
They do actually make 4x4 and AWD vans. I’ve serviced some rural northern ontario cottages in a pretty big FWD van and with enough throttle and the occasional tug you can go pretty far.