Pirate parking rates prove punitive persecution

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• GUEST SHOT: City council’s $3,600 thank-you to its taxpayers
• FAITH: Columnist challenged to prove his beliefs
• EDITORIAL: Life lesson on display in park on Nov. 11

Editor:

From a taxpayer’s point of view, it seems we are being punitively punished for not blindly accepting the city’s parkade-in-the-park propaganda.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember the propaganda not long ago coming from this very same corporate person, positive that the parkade was going to pay for itself quickly, with an annual income of $328,236, which would keep up on the $8-million mortgage payments and then some.

Indeed, if it weren’t for the counterpetition process, the “person” know as the City of Kamloops would most likely be breaking ground this very day.

One year later, Kamloops has the gall to double parking rates, increase fines and borrow millions, not to build a parkade somewhere else more suitable, but to put in digital parking meters at a time when people can least afford it.

Let’s not even consider the fact the old meters have lasted decades with little maintenance issues.

In contrast, electronic crap is constantly breaking down, so let’s double  projected costs.

Instead, focus on the gay foolers who have the audacity to say it is to help attract new business and fill office space.

To a normal individual, it seems psychotic to borrow millions for no increase in parking space, all in hopes of attracting cash-strapped shoppers.

The city said it is looking into public-private partnerships for parkades, although in my mind, it missed the boat with the Lansdowne Village shopping mall redesign/butchering and the hotel that removed 300 public-parking stalls from the community and had its own parking-stall requirement waived.

All in all, strange behaviour from a “person” who was so gung-ho not long ago to build a parkade their way.

Brian Alexander

Kamloops