Thunder Bay residents are fighting the increase of parking fees.
As of June 1, city parking meters require a $2 minimum spend, which buys one hour of parking.
A petition created by the Waterfront District Business Improvement Area (BIA) hopes to enable 15 and 30 minute parking options.
There are over 1,500 signatures already.
The executive director of the BIA, Kara Pratt, says the high parking fees negatively affect the community.
“People will be less apt to come support our small businesses that support them,” said Pratt. “There’s extra cost to picking up a coffee or something quick from one of our retailers, with minimum of 2 verses being able to pay a smaller amount for 15 minutes of parking.”
One hour parking decreases the amount of residents parking downtown, decreasing small business revenue.
The BIA created the petition to get attention from council, said Pratt.
They will be making a deputation to council on June 17.
