Parking fees in Red Deer’s downtown will increase between 10 and 15 cents an hour starting July 3.
The two-hour restricted parking metres within the core will cost $1.15 per hour, an increase of 15 cents per hour. Meters outside downtown will cost $.90 an hour, a rise of 15 cents.
Parking at eight-hour meters will cost $.70 cents per hour, up by 10 cents.
Fees will also rise for city-owned parking lots.
Lot P4, beside City Centre Stage, and lot P5, beside Sorensen Station, will increase to $1.15 per hour.
Lots P2, near Prairie Office; P3, behind Ranchers Valley Hotel; P6, the old Arlington Hotel location; and P9, on the corner of 46th Street and 51st Avenue, will increase to $.90 per hour.
Parking rates for the remaining lots in and around the downtown core will increase to $.70 cents per hour.
Sorensen Station monthly parking rates will increase to $94.50 per month from $84 per month and will rise by 15 cents to $.90 cents per hour.
Motorists and people who work in the downtown core can save up to $.45 per hour or $3.60 per day when they park outside the downtown core. The new ability to pre-pay for parking starting at 5 a.m. allows for increased flexibility for motorists who begin their work day at 8 a.m.
Parking fees run Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with free parking on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
The fees came after Red Deer city council earlier approved in the 2012 municipal budget of an overall increase of about 15 per cent at all city-owned parking facilities.
More information, including a map of the paid parking zones, is available on the city’s website at www.reddeer.ca/parking.