Parking plan and budget
The Parking Service facilitates parking and innovative use of space including patios for businesses and communities to benefit Calgarians. This is achieved by providing paid and timed parking and loading, the enforcement of The City's parking policies and bylaws, administration of permitted parking, and space management for special events and seasonal activities. The mission is to contribute to vibrant, safe and accessible communities by managing and administering parking resources.
The Parking Service is self-supported and generates a revenue stream that allows for reinvestment in communities, business areas and other Council priorities.
Our customers
- Vehicle and bicycle users
- Businesses and services across Calgary.
- Residents and visitors regarding parking permits.
- Enforcement activity serves vehicle operators, residents, and businesses by providing safe movement and access to parking.
Our partners
- Calgary Transit to support the enforcement of reserved parking stalls at C-Train stations and with the Streets service to support efficient traffic operation and maintenance.
- Community associations and neighborhoods,
- Local school boards.
- Business Improvement Areas and third-party clients
Value to Calgarians
- provide public parking on-street, in parkades and in surface parking lots
- ensures parking is reliable and available
- supports movement and access through provisioning of special use zones (commercial loading, accessible parking zones)
- safeguards access for emergency services to hydrants and access for maintenance activities such as street cleaning and snow removal
What we deliver
- Appropriate parking resources throughout the city, such as paid, permitted and accessible parking.
- Develops and maintains City parking strategies, policies and associated bylaws.
- Parking services administers the parking revenue reinvestment program.
Budget breakdown
Operating and capital budgets explained
The City develops two budgets to create impact aligned with Council’s Strategic Direction:
- The four-year (2023-2026) operating plans and budgets
- The five-year (2023-2027+) capital plans and budgets
The operating budget includes revenues, recoveries and spending related to ongoing operations. These include:
- Salaries, wages and benefits.
- Day to day programs, maintenance and services.
- Administration costs (e.g., insurance).
- Fuel
- Utilities
- Capital financing costs.
The City's total net operating budget is zero. This means we budget to collect the revenue needed to deliver services to Calgarians — no more, no less. We collect this revenue through property taxes and other sources.
The capital budget pays for long-lived assets. These provide the foundation for the services Calgarians rely on. They include:
- Maintenance of current infrastructure (e.g., bridges, buildings and playgrounds).
- Upgrades to existing community infrastructure.
- New infrastructure to provide services in areas that are underserved (e.g., Green Line).
- New infrastructure for growing areas of the city.
Learn more about our 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets.
See how the budget has been adjusted since November 2022
Measuring performance
We are measuring our performance in five areas. Each value is the goal we expect to reach by 2026.
What we've heard
The Citizen Satisfaction Survey shows an improving trend in citizens' satisfaction. 72 per cent of surveyed citizens are satisfied with the job The City is doing in providing Parking and enforcement.
Additionally, 50 per cent of citizens think we should maintain the current level of investments for Parking where only 21 per cent think we should invest more and 30 per cent expressed less investment for Parking.
Participate and view results of City researchWhat we're watching
- The duration of the pandemic’s negative impact on parking activity. Reduced parking activity in high occupancy areas of the city has significantly impacted parking revenue streams, including tag issuance.
- Integrating Calgary Parking’s operations fully with The City’s new organizational structure will be a complex process and will take time. The transition aims to minimize any disruption of service for customers.
- As the trend towards teleworking continues, new products such as the Flex Pass have been developed and will be evaluated and updated as circumstances continue to evolve.
- We will be continuing to pay close attention to our customers who will be impacted as we implement the changes to the Residential Permit Parking Program. Adjustments to the program, communications and information sharing will be considered as needed.
Our initiatives
What we plan to do
We will adjust to new demand levels and providing parking products and services to meet evolving customer and business needs while leveraging opportunities resulting from integration with The City.
How we're going to get there
- Improve positive perception of the Parking Service by facilitating sponsorship and outreach programs where funding is allocated to groups or organizations that have mobility and transportation-related projects.
- Deliver awareness of the ParkPlus System, the Traffic and Parking Bylaws to Calgarians by creating opportunities for Parking Safety & Compliance (PS&C) officers to engage with customers and Calgarians in the community.
- Decrease operating costs by upgrading to more fuel-efficient fleet vehicles.
- Reduce parkade operating costs by upgrading lighting and heating units.
- Increase revenue through the Flex Pass program and other new products.