Here’s how 2025 Windsor budget could change parking fees, enforcement

If Windsor’s mayor adopts the 2025 municipal budget as amended by council this week, paid public parking in the city will soon become more expensive.

Here’s what drivers need to know:

Increased meter enforcement

• Parking meters will be enforced until 7 p.m. The city’s 1,450 metres were previously free after 6 p.m.
• City staff estimate the added annual revenue from that extra hour of enforcement at $130,000.
• Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens’s proposed 2025 budget recommended extending enforcement until 9 p.m., but on Jan. 27, the council majority passed a budget amendment to enforce meters until 7 p.m. instead.

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“I think we really need to take small steps here,” said Ward 8 Coun. Gary Kaschak, who put forward the amendment.

“I think one hour is a good way to go — it’s a way to start moving forward with a nominal increase, but not at that hefty three-hour rate.”

Councillors Fred Francis (Ward 1), Fabio Costante (Ward 2), Angelo Marignani (Ward 7), and Jim Morrison (Ward 10) expressed opposition to the change.

“It’s kind of piecemeal. I think we need to modernize our entire parking system before we actually incorporate these improvements,” Marignani said.

Rates for meters, lots, and garages

• Hourly rates at parking meters will increase by $0.25 to $2.25. That’s a 12.5-per-cent increase.
• In parking lots and garages, hourly rates go up by $0.25 to $2.00 — a 14.3 per cent increase.

The change is expected to bring in around $200,000 in additional annual revenue for the city.

This is the fifth increase in parking rates for meters and lots since 2007, when meters charged $1.25 per hour and garages and lots were $1.00 per hour.

A parking ticket is shown on a vehicle on Wyandotte Street East in Windsor on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. Photo by Dan Janisse /Windsor Star

Monthly rates for lots and garages

• Monthly rates in parking lots and garages will increase by three per cent. For city garages, the fee will go from $110 to $113.30. For lots, rates will range from $67.98 to $101.97 monthly, up from $66 to $99.
• The change is expected to bring in approximately $35,000 in additional annual revenue.

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