The City of Kitchener expected to take in $424,000 in parking revenue for the first eight months of 2013.
Instead, it received slightly less than $159,000.
City staff point to delays in projects like the parking garage at the downtown branch of the Kitchener Public Library as being responsible for the decline in revenue.
That garage was expected to be open in June, but won’t be ready until the end of the year.
“It’s a very complex project,” says Paul McCormick, the city’s parking enterprise manager.
“It includes a 412-spot parking garage as well as the redevelopment of the library.”
There also hasn’t been as much parking demand as expected at a parking garage at Duke and Ontario streets, while other drivers have been staying away from a large lot on King Street due to the impending construction of the City Centre condos.
“People have decided to move on into different parking structures,” says McCormick.
Staff say the decline in parking revenue won’t be a major budget issue, as it can be offset by a similar decline in spending on snow removal.
In the first eight months of 2012, the city earned more than $308,000 from parking fees.
