Motorists are once again getting a break downtown during the festive season as commissionaires and meter fairies alike try to take the sting out of metered parking.
From now until Dec. 24, the city’s usual parking tickets issued by commissionaires will be replaced by courtesy tickets, a new wrinkle added this year. Courtesy tickets will encourage motorists to pay it forward by making a $10 donation to the CFAX Santa’s Anonymous fund.
“It isn’t: ‘Come park for free for as long as you want,’ ” Mayor Dean Fortin said. “It’s a recognition that that if you over-extend your time that these courtesy tickets will be there.
“The idea is to start a new tradition and say, ‘If you get one of these, think about making a donation to the CFAX Santa’s Anonymous.’ You got a break, give a kid a break, too.”
Between 200 and 300 of the courtesy tickets are expected to be issued daily during the holiday period.
Victoria’s efforts to give motorists a break is being bolstered by the Downtown Victoria Business Association, which four days a week (Wednesday through Saturday) has a meter fairy strolling downtown streets, adding a few extra minutes to expired meters.
The meter fairy is armed with the same hand-held device that commissionaires use to determine which motorists have exceeded their allotted stay.
“All it shows are images for each of those meters — red or green,” DVBA general manager Ken Kelly said. “If it’s red, our meter fairy then has the opportunity of looking at that meter number, punching in that meter number, and putting in two quarters. It gives that person another 12 minutes of grace to get back to their car.”
A card that explains the meter magic and is good for an hour of free parking in a city parkade is then left under the wiper. The program has the potential to save up to 100 motorists a day from getting tickets.
“It’s a gentle way of helping people out and diverting people the next time they come downtown to a parkade where they don’t have to worry about that meter expiring,” Kelly said.
