The Update | REM Parking Spots

Welcome back to the update. This week I'll be talking to you about something you may have noticed if you use the Rezo Express Metropolyte, better known as the REM. Over the past month, new pay for parking zones have popped up at several REM stations, and for a lot of riders, this came as a surprise. Today, we're looking into the frustration surrounding this change, why it matters, and what alternatives are being offered to people who rely on driving to get around. I'm your host, Mary Chasarjan, and this is your update from the Concordian. The REM has begun implementing a new pay for parking system at several stations, a move that's raising concerns among commuters who rely on driving to access the network, especially in suburban areas. Over the last month, paid parking zones have appeared at the following stations, de Montagne, Grandmoulet, Saint-Doraté, Ilbigre, Brafran, and De Risseau. To manage these zones, the REM has partnered with the parking company Indigo Neo. After the new pricing model, drivers can purchase a daily parking pass for $10.29 or a monthly pass for $121.30. A cost some commuters say costs nearly as much as their monthly transit passes. For those who drive to reach the REM, the added expense feels discouraging rather than supportive. Matthew Hunter is a student at Polytechnique, Morial. He drives to the Domo time station every day, but says paying for parking simply isn't an option for him. I have the ACFAS, the ABCFAS, and it's $120. And the parking, like the parking ticket, the parking, the subscription is like $102.20. It's high-spinning. Yeah. I would never pay it, and I don't think I'm ever going to pay it. Most of the time, because I've been using, I've been driving to this place for like four or five years, almost every day, and before when there wasn't any parking spots. You have a place like 8, 9 AM. And now when you come here at 7 AM, there are no parking spots because, like, having the parking in his place comes in. Hunter who lives in Domo Tán says the cost of parking, combined with frequent REM service disruptions, makes the system less appealing overall. He worries the new policy could push people away from using the REM entirely. Cancisla Bay, a spokesperson of the REM's developer, CDPQ Infra, said in a statement to the Concordian, "The goal of paid parking is to encourage commuters to consider different ways of accessing stations, not just personal vehicles." He says CDPQ Infra aims to maximize access options to REM stations by promoting various modes of transportation, including active transit, walking and cycling, and public transit, as well as access by personal vehicle. But Hunter argues that in suburban areas, alternative transportation options often aren't realistic, with exobuses in Domo Tán running hourly. "In the suburbs, buses are not reliable, and one of the issues they don't have often is that they come or they're late to business, so that's a big issue for a lot of people to visit." Urban planning experts are also questioning the logic behind discouraging drivers after building infrastructure designed to accommodate them. Craig Townsend is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University. He says paid parking contradicts the original purpose of park and ride transit stations. "It's a big contradictory. There are some transit systems where it's usually a public sector, like transit agency, seeks to discourage people from driving to stations, so in some cases they don't provide parking." "Or limit the amount of parking that's available close to stations, but it sounds to me from the sequence of events that's happened here, that the CDPQ Infra, which is building the system, has actually built some parking lots and is seeking to make money from them. So if they are making statements about also wanting to discourage people from driving to the stations, I would. My interpretation would be that they are actually maybe trying to distract from the fact that they are actually needing to and trying to make money from this." The REM has long been promoted as a sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation project, but some users now feel the new parking policy creates a financial barrier to public transit, particularly for students, low-income riders and suburban commuters with limited alternatives. According to CDPQ Infra, there are roughly 10,000 parking spots across the REM network, with some reserved for carpoolers and people with disabilities. With the introduction of paid parking zones, however, the number of free spots available to solo drivers has decreased. Now, these costly parking areas are almost completely empty, with people opting to park in the free areas. More pay for parking zones are expected to be introduced at the Pierre-Font-Rocs-Beroux and Sunnybrook stations. As the REM continues to expand and adjust its services, commuters are left weighing whether the convenience of the network still outweighs its rising costs. Thank you for tuning in. This episode of the update was produced by myself, Meri Razarian, and our music was produced by Sauron Hartzumyan. And so for this week, tune in next time for another episode of the update.