Heavier vehicles to pay more for parking permits in Halifax

Halifax Regional Council voted on Tuesday to charge heavier vehicles more for annual residential street permit parking.

The vote, 11 to 5, will replace the current flat-rate system and charge heavier vehicles more, promoting smaller, more fuel-efficient cars in Halifax Regional Municipality.

The staff report listed the bylaw’s benefits as potentially increasing street parking capacity, reducing environmental impact, and recovering costs for road maintenance. The change is projected to generate an additional $20,000 in annual revenue for the municipality.

Luke Abell, a 22-year-old NSCAD student who lives in downtown Halifax and owns a truck, says he is frustrated with the new bylaw. 

“It’s already difficult to find parking for the size and length of my vehicle. Having to now pay more just makes it worse.”  

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore opposed the bylaw, saying “the juice isn’t worth the squeeze,” suggesting that $20,000 in extra annual revenue might not be worth the hassle and backlash the new bylaw might cause.

District 4 Cole Harbour Coun. Trish Purdy agreed with Fillmore, saying “This is a penalization on our residents,” and “I can’t get behind a penalized system for choosing a vehicle of choice.” 

The weight-based parking permit system will only be implemented on the Halifax peninsula and downtown Dartmouth. All other regions in the HRM will not be affected. Contractors living outside these regions, or who park in a driveway or garage, will also not be affected. 

Most councillors were in favour of the system, including deputy mayor Patty Cuttell, who said she thought it was a move in the right direction. 

District 7 Halifax South Downtown Coun. Laura White also voted for the bylaw, saying, “I think it makes sense environmentally, and safety-wise.” 

The pay system works as follows: vehicles up to 1,000 kg will pay $143.30 for a two-year permit. Vehicles weighing from 1,001–1,500 kg will pay $176.90, vehicles from 1,501–3,200 kg will pay $221.70, vehicles weighing between 3,201–4,100 kg will pay $276.50, and finally vehicles weighing between 4,101–5,000 kg will pay $333.90.

Electric vehicles, which tend to weigh more than equivalent gasoline-powered cars, don’t have any exemptions, though they only take up 0.4 per cent of the cars in HRM. 

The pay-by-weight parking permit system has been implemented in Canada twice, both times in Montreal boroughs (Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie and Plateau-Mont-Royal). It was proposed in Vancouver in 2021, but that city council denied the motion. 

Vehicles above 4,000 kg will not be eligible for street parking permits. If residents change cars during the year of their parking permit, the amount they pay will not change, even if they move to a heavier vehicle.