Barrie politicians will receive a report from a consultant about whether to move forward or not with a year-round, overnight, on-street parking ban in the city.
At a parking advisory ad-hoc committee meeting on Wednesday, Deputy-Mayor Robert Thomson couldn't stress it enough that the motion being voted on was not rubberstamping an overnight parking ban.
"This is to look at it, as other municipalities have this, and to see how it can be implemented, the cost and everything else," Thomson noted.
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The committee motion is to refer the overnight ban to Barrie's transit and parking strategy department for inclusion in an update to the city's municipal parking strategy, so the program can be reviewed by a consultant, along with other parking initiatives and permit systems.
A year-round overnight parking ban could include a single-use overnight permit program with online registration, a flat fee, and not be linked to a municipal address.
Mayor Alex Nuttall felt debating the issue before seeing the findings of the consultant was pointless.
"My concern would be we're debating the outcome before it goes to those who know what is best. Everybody's thinking about a street, but not necessarily the same street, and every street is different."
The motion still requires approval by general committee and city council.
The current overnight on-street parking ban is from Dec. 1 until March 31, at 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m., and 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. downtown.
