The Calgary Parking Authority, which appears to be a revenue generating vehicle for City Hall, almost puled the wool over everyone's eyes this week with a pair of moves that has left a bad taste in the mouths of even the city councillors.
Earlier this week, they announced that they would be reducing parking fees at meters and switching to a graduated system, where the shorter your stay, the less your rate per hour. Stay past 30 or 60 minutes and the rate continues to climb. Not a bad idea and this does a tremendous favour for folks running errands who just need to get into the downtown, get on with it and get out in a jiffy.
The bomb they waited to drop however, was that this reduction comes at a price. Higher rates for parking fines and an imminent move toward delaying the night-time hour where parking rates reduce (currently 6pm) and the elimination of free parking on Sundays and holidays. Well, you might as well have said you would be asking people to sacrifice their first born for the reaction that got from everyone - council, the public, downtown businesses. Rightfully so. It seems the parking authority can't afford to lose any of its revenue stream (which feeds City coffers), so they did one small favour while turning the screws elsewhere.
My feeling is that parking revenue shouldn't be considered a guaranteed income for the City. Of the $22.4 million the authority took in in 2008, only $13.5 million went to transit and road maintenance. It's no wonder Calgary has parking rates rivalling cities like New York. But I'm beginning to understand why rates are as high as they are. If transit service into the core was fast and efficient, parking revenue would plummet because it would make more sense to ride the train or bus than to drive and park. But as long as it's infinitely more convenient to drive and park than to ride, parking lots will fill, no matter how expensive. I mean seriously, why would you make your way to the nearest station to ride the train into the downtown for $5 return when you can drive into a heated underground lot after 6pm for $4 in much less than half the time? Depending on when you get to the train station, you might even be on the hook for a $3 parking fee. PASS!
You know, if I was a conspiracy theorist..... They raise the parking rates, then they raise the transit rates, raise the parking some more, add parking fees to transit riders, raise the parking a little bit more..... do you see a pattern here?
This week in the playlist I bring you the music that got me through the first half of the 1980s. Ah yes, all your favourites are here - Eurythmics, Thomas Dolby, OMD, Ultravox..... even freakin' Bauhaus! Yeah.... I know. Bauhaus.
13 Nov (Fri): Oh look. I have a sore throat. Freaking wonderful.
Bell finally eliminated their $6.95 system access fee to their cell phone customers today. They were the last big player to do so. There was no fanfare. That’s probably because the most hated fee in the country was simply replaced by a monthly $5 hike in all service plans, just like the other companies did when they got rid of their own system access fees.
15 companies that originally sold something else.
The Calgary Parking Authority, which appears to be a revenue generating vehicle for City Hall, almost puled the wool over everyone's eyes this week with a pair of moves that has left a bad taste in the mouths of even the city councillors.
I'm not the biggest Dylan fan, but when I saw this video, I felt all warm and fuzzy inside.
Remember the little spiel I gave a while back about the Google Operating System coming soon to a computer near you? Well, more information has broken about the Chrome OS.
That's the last time the pizza guy complains that he can't see the house number.
"Where were you on the night of the 16th at approximately 8 pm?"
Oh! Oh! I just thought of a way to wade in on the cable vs. networks carriage fee debate.
Tall towers with breath-taking lookouts.
The most popular Christmas toys, each year, since 1960.
This is kinda cool and gross at the same time. The lung flute uses a reed that when you blow into it, the reed vibrates. As weird as this is to comprehend, the vibrations work their way back into your lungs and shake up any mucus or phlegm until it rips apart and becomes easy to cough up. The video doesn't actually show the guy coughing stuff up, but you can tell he's ready to do so.
I don't know if this is a real commercial or not, but regardless, it's funny. Best line:
Coca Cola will be introducing the world's first PET plastic recyclable bottle made partially from plant waste material.
You're probably looking at my blog and wondering - what's up with that Karl guy? He never goes a day without posting something....
I imagine that sooner or later the technology will exist in which our minds can be read by a computer. Although I'm sure some folks will have dreamt up some evil use for such a technology, I'm curious about something different.
For a limited time, Vans have a Fritz the Cat design.
Hey Canadians! You know the battle taking place between the cable / satellite operators and the Canadian networks over carriage fees?
15 famous people who used to teach.
I'm not big into yachts, but this one caught my eye. It's unlike any yacht I've ever seen before. It's more like a multi-level modern penthouse apartment than a boat. Check out the video.
I was plugged into my iPhone and listening to my music collection when the device started playing Craig Armstrong's 'Stay (Faraway, so close!)'. This lyric made me smile:
..... celebrity twitter pages!
Imagine if you weren't allowed in a children's play area with your own children because you haven't passed a criminal check. the children instead are watched by "play rangers" while parents watch their kids from outside a perimeter fence.
