Winnipeg getting rid of city parking meters starting this summer

CBC

21-05-2025

The City of Winnipeg says it plans to start removing pay stations at on-street parking areas and city-run surface lots this summer.
Parking meters will start disappearing July 2, and all city pay stations will be gone by Aug. 31, the city said in a news release Wednesday. Pay stations in private lots will not be affected, and meters will also remain in the Millennium Library parkade.
The change comes as Canada's mobile service providers phase out 3G networks, making the current city pay stations inoperable, the release said. The meters have also reached the end of their useful life, use outdated technology and attract theft and vandalism.
Replacing the pay stations would cost $3.6 million, the release said. By not getting new ones, the city will save those costs, on top of the roughly $1 million it spends on operating costs every year.
People can still pay for on-street parking using PayByPhone, which is available as a mobile app (iOS and Android), online and by phone [phone]). PayByPhone accepts debit and credit card payments.
Over 80 per cent of all paid parking transactions are currently made through PayByPhone, the city said.
PayByPhone lets people pay for and add parking time from anywhere, the city said, encouraging users to download the app now to prepare for the change.
People who prefer using cash to pay can still buy prepaid parking booklets (formerly the Scratch N' Park Meter Passes) at the Parking Store at 495 Portage Ave. They can also be paid for with debit or credit cards, the city said.
The booklets will also be available to buy by July 2 at one of the city's 311 counters at the Susan A. Thompson Building at 510 Main St. (on the main floor), or at Access St. Boniface at 170 Goulet St.