ManitobaA new City of Winnipeg parking strategy aims to make finding a spot easier and could lead to the end of free parking on evenings and weekends.Plan could also create mobile app for parking availability, pilot electric vehicle charging stationsCameron MacLean · CBC News · Posted: Nov 03, 2025 7:44 PM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesA new City of Winnipeg parking strategy could see paid parking zones expand to new areas across the city, as well as into the evening and on weekends. (Ron Dhaliwal/CBC)A new City of Winnipeg parking strategy aims to make finding a spot easier and could lead to the end of free parking on evenings and weekends.The city has unveiled a five-year Parking and Mobility Strategy that would overhaul how parking rates and hours are set.The goal, officials say, is to manage a growing demand for curbside space as the city densifies, while making parking easier to find and more predictable, with a target of 15 per cent vacancy (roughly two spots per block).It also aims to balance competing uses such as ride-hailing and delivery services, patios and bike lanes.Coun. Janice Lukes, chair of the public works committee, says the city needs a co-ordinated approach as new housing and higher-density developments put pressure on existing parking.“There’s been parking reductions and that will create more demand as the city increases…. So the curbside parking management needs a strategy that can be applied citywide,” Lukes said in an interview.The public works committee will discuss the plan at its meeting on Nov. 6.It could lead to the creation of on-street electric vehicle charging stations, an app to monitor parking availability in real time, and updated signage for accessible parking.It could also introduce a process for regularly reviewing and adjusting parking rates and hours, based on demand. That could eventually mean paid parking later into the evening, or even on weekends, when it’s currently free.It could also lead the city to reduce prices or eliminate paid parking in areas where demand is low.No sudden ‘surge’But officials with the Winnipeg Parking Authority say drivers shouldn’t expect to see sudden swings in the city’s parking rates.”It’s not going to be … where you see a daily surge of pricing going live throughout the day. It’s more that we’ll be looking at the trends over a year, maybe even two years, before we look at adjusting rates,” said Ajaleigh Williams, the Winnipeg Parking Authority’s manager of strategic initiatives.Lukes said the plan isn’t about generating revenue, but about ensuring businesses, residents and visitors can access parking when they need it.“The goal is to keep the parking moving so people can come down and shop at the businesses,” she said.Farouq Muhsen, the owner of Bronuts donut shop in the Exchange District, says his business relies on people stopping in for a quick pick-up, and his customers need a place to park.”It’s not convenient at all, sometimes,” he said.”We need this spot to be available all the time in order for our customers to be able to come and pick up and for our business to thrive.”The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ says it supports the city’s more strategic approach but wants to ensure accessibility and business vitality remain priorities.“It’s important that any new measures don’t create additional barriers for how people get to and move through downtown,” Kate Fenske, the BIZ’s CEO, wrote in an email. “We appreciate the City is engaging with us and other stakeholder groups in the process.”If council approves the plan, city staff will spend the next couple of years gathering and analyzing data and consulting with businesses and residents before identifying new high-demand zones by 2028 and possibly expanding paid parking in 2029.WATCH | City’s new plan could bring paid parking on evenings and weekends:City’s new parking plan could bring paid parking on evenings and weekendsThe City of Winnipeg’s new parking strategy would tie parking rates and hours to demand, and could eventually mean paid parking in more areas, and at more times of day. ABOUT THE AUTHORCameron MacLean is a journalist for CBC Manitoba living in Winnipeg, where he was born and raised. He has more than a decade of experience reporting in the city and across Manitoba, covering a wide range of topics, including courts, politics, housing, arts, health and breaking news. Email story tips to cameron.maclean@cbc.ca.
City of Winnipegs new parking strategy could mean paid parking on evenings, weekends
