NEWS & ANALYSIS
DeSousa says parking spot tax will pay for public transport
By P.A. Sévigny The Suburban As the man in charge of the city?s finances, Ville St. Laurent Mayor Alan DeSousa said the city?s new tax on downtown parking lots ?is a fair tax and a good way to show the province we?re doing our share to help finance the city?s public transport.? While some may applaud the tax as one of the city?s latest ?green? initiatives, others say the tax isn?t fair because it is only being imposed upon the busiest sectors of the city?s already beleaguered downtown core. From its eastern border along Papineau Blvd. to its western border along Atwater, every commercial parking spot within a rectangle located south of Pine Avenue all the way to the river is expected to raise up to $20 million in new taxes for the city. Parking lot operators will soon be expected to pay anywhere from 50 cents up to $2 per day for each and every space on their lot depending upon its location within DeSousa?s rectangle. While some business people just shrug their shoulders to say the added costs will be passed onto the consumer, others fear those clients may choose to ignore the city?s downtown retail sector for some free parking at shopping centres located in and around Montreal?s suburbs. DeSousa rejects that argument because he said the new tax is specifically aimed at commuters who still use their cars to get to work in the downtown core. ?Look at the big picture,? he said. ?If we?re going to ask the provincial government to help us build a new and better public transit system, we have to put our money where our mouth is and show them (the province) we?re willing to put up some of the money.? ?That?s a good start,? said Projet Montréal?s Peter McQueen, ?but he (DeSousa) could do a lot better if he taxed commercial parking space right across the city.? Only a few months after the election, McQueen is quickly learning the difference between campaign rhetoric and the hard decisions required to properly manage a major metropolis. During a brief Monday morning telephone conversation, he told The Suburban every tax should be a fair tax. If the city taxed every commercial parking spot available in each and every one of its boroughs, McQueen believes the new parking lot tax would be fair and equitable, it would reduce the tax load, the customer?s cost would be negligible and the tax would raise a lot more desperately needed money for public transit than DeSousa?s present option. Following through on his logic, McQueen believes the tax burden could be further reduced if both the city?s ?agglo? partners and the Montreal Municipal Community agreed to coordinate their efforts to impose a similar tax on every commercial parking spot within their jurisdiction. Though it would require a lot of courage for both the municipal and provincial governments to agree on such a tax, McQueen said it would still be fair, it would be relatively painless and it would soon reduce the public transit system?s systematic deficit to nothing more than a bad memory. While DeSousa?s new budget raised the city?s contribution for public transit by $60 million, he said he will still have to rely upon the city?s taxpayers to pay $40 million over and above the original $20 million raised from the city?s assorted parking lots. ?It?s only fair,? said DeSousa. ?Why should the owner of a duplex in Rosemont be expected to pay for a public transit system while the off-island commuter who still drives into the city doesn?t have to pay anything?? ?So why tax just a few parking spots?? asked McQueen. ?If he taxed all the commercial parking spots across the city, it would still be a more equitable and more acceptable than just taxing a few lots within the downtown core.? ?Permanent solution for NDG flood victims still some time away
By Dan Delmar The Suburban Residents of eastern NDG, some of whom are forced to clean up after basement floods annually, won?t be seeing a long-term fix to water infrastructure problems in the area until the oft-delayed super hospital plans are finalized. Côte des Neiges-NDG officials have confirmed to The Suburban that measures now being taken are aimed at providing temporary relief for residents before the spring thaw. Sewers and catch basins in the area will be cleaned out and visual inspections will be car- ried out regularly, said borough communications officer François Puchin. A permanent solution is being held up by delays in the construction of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) super hospital. Even though an overhaul of underground infrastructure work will be necessary to accommodate the new facilities ? assuming they are built ? the city of Montreal is in no rush to begin the work, despite persistent complaints from residents. Earlier this month, they retracted a call for tenders on the work, which needs to be carried out on See FLOODING, page 11www.IGA.net
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