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Old 03-16-2009, 12:12 PM   #57
Resolute 14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Claeren View Post
Isn't the advantage here that you can actually get a parking spot each morning?

If you have 8000 people fighting for 1000 parking spots it is pretty basic (and conservative minded) economics to charge what the top 1000 people are willing to pay and then use that revenue elsewhere in the system.

It is actually a bigger waste of tax payer money to NOT charge for parking, as each single free parking spot with more than one customer is literally leaving money on the table. ANY private business would charge for a limited commodity like parking yet you don't want the government to be as financially responsible? I don't get it??


People just don't like change....



Claeren.
And how many people are just going to drive directly to places now? That's $5 per person lost. Certainly CT's Ticketmaster-like inconvienence fee will still out strip that, but there are other costs. More people driving rather than taking the train means more traffic on the streets, more pollution, etc. Added costs of monitoring the lots. People looking to avoid paying the charges will be tying up street parking. As was noted above, there are going to be lots of ######bags parking in condo visitor stalls, putting pressure on those residences, and the boards to increase their own monitoring of their lots, and their own costs.

Frankly, I have no intention of ever paying this fee. For Hitmen games, I'll just drive to the Dome. It is now worth paying an extra $3 to avoid dealing with the massive incompetence of Calgary Transit. For Flames games and other things where the added time cost of parking on site would be an issue, I'll just park at Chinook Centre and walk two blocks.

Of course, there is also the fact that they are asking us to pay an additional $3 for nothing. I'd like to see those clowns justify this fee by actually giving a damn about providing good service.
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