Sylvan Lake visitors will pay for the convenience of parking near the waterfront beginning in May.
Paid parking will be in place along Lakeshore Drive from Centennial Street to 40th Avenue, Centennial Street from 50th Ave. north, short stretches of 50A and 46th Streets, and both Centennial Park parking lots.
Street parking will be $2 an hour for a maximum of three hours. Centennial Park lots will cost $2 per hour or $10 per day. Paid parking runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Parking rates will apply from May 15 to Sept. 15. Residents can get a tag so they don’t have to pay.
“Residents just have to register their licence plates,” said town spokeswoman Joanne Gaudet. They will scan as paid if anyone comes along to (check).”
The town will be posting maps and signs to make sure visitors are aware of the changes.
The town has also responded to the problem of lake visitor cars clogging up nearby residential streets by barring parking in the Cottage, Downtown and West Village Districts, which run from 53rd Street to 34th Street.
Free parking remains on 50th Ave., which runs the length of the lakefront one block south.
On Monday, council approved a $121,500 contract to supply the pay parking stations, which is well below the $175,000 council had budgeted. The total cost of putting pay parking in place was estimated at $483,000.
The town previously estimated paid parking will eventually lead to about $90,000 in net revenue per year. That is money that can be used for upkeep, maintenance and additional enforcement in the lakeshore area.