Bridgewater town council has pushed their proposed parking meter by-law to second reading. Members voted unanimously in favour of going ahead but not without some clarifications. Councillor Bill McInnis was concerned with enforcement if a parking ticket isn't paid after seven days. There was nothing in the proposed by-law saying residents would face a higher fine if the ticket wasn't paid. Mayor Carroll Publicover says it's a change that needs to be made.Members also clarified another clause that states 'Parking in excess of time allowed.' Publicover says the rule suggests parking meter users would no longer be able to feed the meters.
"If I put $0.50 an hour in the metre over the course of a day, I'm going to spend less than I would to rent a parking spot somewhere and that's taking up a spot that would be used by shoppers and people that want to do business downtown. I can't imagine it, but I guess there are people that would do that and so that has to be prevented."Publicover says people who studied the by-law made the recommendation to put the clause in place. Council will proceed with second reading of the proposed by-law at their February 27 council meeting.