Lethbridge College students hoping to save a few dollars on parking may need to look at alternative options.
Students parking at Lethbridge’s Enmax Centre have been given a break for many years with free parking.
Lethbridge city council’s city-wide operational review was released on Oct. 31, with one of the recommendations for the Enmax Centre to start charging for parking.
According to the operational report by KPMG, Enmax Centre staff have investigated the potential revenues and costs of doing so and estimated it could generate net revenues of $250,000 per year, assuming $5 per vehicle per event.
Kelci Trapp, a recreational therapy student said she began parking at the Enmax Centre because she doesn’t believe students should have to pay for parking as an additional cost to tuition.
“Parking at the Enmax has saved me thousands of dollars, along with a lot of other students and it would be a shame to take that opportunity away from me and future students,” Trapp said.
Trapp mentioned she has parked at the Enmax since beginning her program in 2016 as a way to save money.
Bryan Czernick, of Lethbridge College’s parking services said he doesn’t believe the college’s parking will be affected by Enmax’s parking fees, unless the charges exceed the college’s parking prices.
“If their fees are higher than ours, then definitely we will have an increase of students requesting them. If they’re cheaper, I don’t think it will have much of an effect. Those who were parking there will park there and those that want to pay to park on our campus will continue to do so,” he said.
The Lethbridge College bookstore sells parking passes to students at a cost of $140 per semester with 1,500 stalls available.
Students have been parking at the Enmax Centre as an alternative to Lethbridge College for as long as two decades.
The KPMG report to city council mentioned the tickets system could be put into place as early as 2021.
However, one of the constraints listed is whether or not the city will need to charge students for using the lot during the day but say it may need to happen.
If all the recommendations were adopted by council, it could save the city between $8.5 and $10 million a year.