Bailey Whitefield, owner of Sound Hearing Inc. in Thunder Bay, Ont., says the new $2/hour minumum parking fees in the city will hurt local businesses.
Small business owners in Thunder Bay, Ont., are rallying behind a petition calling for changes to the city's new parking meter fees. As of June 1, people in Thunder Bay must pay a minimum of $2, which buys an hour of time, but businesses say that will deter people from making quick stops.Bailey Whitefield, owner of Sound Hearing Inc. in Thunder Bay, Ont., says the new $2 hourly minimum parking fees in the city will hurt local businesses. Small business owners in Thunder Bay, Ont.
"It's quick stops … it's how they compete against your large corporations that have drive-thrus and their own parking lots," Pratt said. "It's our small businesses and local building owners that fuel a lot of the economy in Thunder Bay." Bailey Whitefield owns Sound Hearing Inc., a hearing clinic on Court Street North. She said the new parking fees will hurt small businesses already struggling with a lack of parking spaces due to construction in the north core.
"They're not giving me an option to pay for tokens for my clients that are only here for half an hour to an hour max, so I won't be doing that anymore. That's not viable for a small business," she said.The BIA was involved in consultations with the city about the proposed parking changes, but Pratt said the $2 minimum fee was missed.
"Both myself and Karen Lewis have stressed the urgency of this. We don't want businesses to suffer. We don't want residents to have to pay the way they are paying now. There's a lot of work to be done, but we need to think of a way forward together."Beyond business owners, those who live in the city's downtown areas say the parking fees also took them by surprise.
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