ELORA – Visitors to “Ontario’s most beautiful village” will have to pay to visit after council approved paid parking for visitors in downtown Elora, but free parking for Centre Wellington residents.
At the May 26 meeting, CAO Dan Wilson presented the next steps in the municipal parking strategy for Fergus/Elora downtowns that had been prepared by R.J. Burnside in 2024.
The report indicates parking in Elora is in such high demand there are no available parking spots on peak days in the village.
The township has realigned some parking lots to fit more vehicles and started a shuttle bus program to encourage visitors to park at the GrandWay Events Centre and take a bus into town.
The parking strategy contemplates a parking garage at some point in the future and paid parking would provide an income stream to fund future capital parking projects.
Wilson said consultation with the pubic and with Elora and Fergus BIAs indicates visitors should pay for parking while residents should not.
Parking issues are not quite as dire in Fergus and paid parking is not recommended there yet.
But council approved the plan for paid parking in Elora, to begin this fall.
The town will be organized into two zones:
- zone one, with three-hour paid parking for visitors and three-hour free parking for residents; and
- zone two, with longer-term parking up to 24 hours, still paid by visitors and free to residents.
Paid parking in zone one will be $3 per hour; in zone two it will be $3 per hour to a maximum $15 for 24-hour parking.
Residents will have to register their vehicles for free parking.
Parking permits will be available for $125 a month for non-residents that frequently park downtown.
The cost will be about $600,000 up front for the machines, signage and to get the program running, but staff expect the program to be cash-positive within two years.
The township will contract Alpha Parking Solutions for the program, as it has done for parking enforcement for the past few years.
