By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Downtown Lethbridge salon owner concerned about new parking time restrictions

May 31, 2018 | 5:47 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Levi Cox is hoping the City of Lethbridge can change some of the parking restrictions that have been imposed since the new parking kiosks went live less than a week ago.

Over the last several days, he says his clients have been getting ‘warning tickets’ from bylaw officers, for violating the two-hour parking rule that applies to many areas in the downtown.

The Catwalk Salon and Spa owner says much of the parking in the downtown core is restricted to two hours, with no option to add more time, unless the vehicle is moved to a three-hour spot, or to one of the 10-hour spots.

But that, he says, has its challenges.

“We are at a point now, where almost every single one of our clients is getting a ticket. We book colours for two hours and 15 minutes here at Catwalk, so that means the client will receive a ticket. We did tell a client she could move to the 10-hour zone…but when she tried to drive to find a 10-hour metre, there wasn’t any.”

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There are currently three zones for parking: Zone Two, with a maximum of two hours allowed per day, Zone Three, with a maximum of three hours allowed per day, and Zone 10, with a maximum of 10 hours allowed per day.

Once the allowable maximum time has expired, the vehicle may not move to another parking spot in the same zone.

Cox says in his opinion this could be detrimental for downtown businesses – which often promote one another.

“I cross promote with places like Drunken Sailor and Plum for example, offering my clients a $10 gift card, so that after their service, they might go have lunch there… or go check out the swim suits. So, we really do have this comradery… but with this plan you’re only allowed two hours each day.”

He adds that even if some of his clients can leave their appointments for a short period of time, the three-hour spots across the street from his salon are often full, and the 10-hour spots around Galt Gardens are rarely available.

He hopes there will be more 10-hour metres made available to those visiting or wanting to spend time downtown during the week, or that those in the two-hour spots can add time.

He says he’s spoken to several people with the City of Lethbridge including Councillor Jeffrey Coffman and Communications staff, who have lent an ear to his concerns.

“You know I look around and I see Casa’s parking lot full, I see Foster’s parking lot full of more than just customers, I see Park Place Mall full. So, you can see people are stressed about this.”

He adds that his business sees at least 40 customers per day, and he employs a staff of 28.

During a three-hour time period Thursday afternoon, Cox counted 13 clients with appointments longer than two hours. Most of them he says would theoretically be getting tickets when the grace period is over.

“I’ve never seen a system that would want to chase people out of the downtown,” he says. “We want people to walk around, shop, plug their meter.”

Lethbridge News Now has contacted the City of Lethbridge for a response to Cox’s concerns, and we will add those responses to this story as soon as possible. 

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