Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 24, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B1 CITY?BUSINESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ? CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM B1 THURSDAY DECEMBER 24, 2020 SECTION BCONNECT WITH WINNIPEG'S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE? T HE City of Winnipeg's parking revenues are on track for a steep pandemic-related drop in 2020 - a year when public health restrictions curbed demand for downtown spaces. Winnipeg Parking Authority rev- enues are projected to reach $13.6 mil- lion by the end of the calender year, based on numbers up to Oct. 31. That compares to total revenue of $24.9 mil- lion in 2019. The expected $11.3-million year- over-year loss is primarily blamed on the pandemic, though other pricing changes did factor in, according to city spokesman Adam Campbell. "The public health restrictions that have been implemented in response to COVID-19 have required temporary closures and an increased proportion of staff working remotely from home for many businesses located in areas of the city where paid parking is in effect. Consequently, the city believes that the vast majority of the decrease in park- ing revenues in 2020 can be attributed to effects of COVID-19," he wrote in an emailed statement. Campbell noted a pandemic relief measure, which began March 28, offer- ing one hour of free parking at paid on- street spots, also reduced revenues. That parking revenues face a steep drop is not surprising, after public health officials urged Winnipeggers to stay home as much as possible when- ever the number of COVID-19 cases spiked in 2020. The pandemic forced many businesses to close at times, and many events to be cancelled, leaving Winnipeggers with far fewer driving destinations. Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan), chairman of council's innovation and economic development committee, said revenue losses will likely continue well into next year. Browaty noted council recently extended the one hour of free parking until June 30, 2021. "I think we're expecting a solid six months of deeply depressed revenues at the parking authority. But hopefully, as vaccines get out there and people return to work, they return to down- town. and we'll starting seeing a re- turn of those revenues," he said. Council has also directed the author- ity not to enforce parking time limits on residential streets, as more Winni- peggers worked from home this year (though streets around the busy Deer Lodge Centre are exempt). Browaty said he hopes the free park- ing will make it easier to make short visits to downtown businesses, during times when shopping and dining are op- tions. "Even giving away an hour of free parking this summer, it didn't cre- ate a situation where streets were jam-packed with vehicles. To me, that means that giving away that first hour was the right thing to do from a policy standpoint. Does it hurt our revenue? Of course it does. But if we lose all these businesses downtown, we lose the business taxes and property taxes for all of those important businesses," he said. Council also approved a 75-cent/hr citywide decrease in on-street parking rates this year, which was implemented at physical pay stations between July 1 and Sept. 1. That decision came after a parking analysis found previous rates left too many stalls empty during peak periods. Prior to the price cut, parking rates cost $3.50/hr in high-demand and hospital areas and $2.50/hr in lower- demand zones. A Winnipeg Parking Authority busi- ness plan notes the authority will re- ceive a portion of the city's federal pandemic relief funding. That support, along with surplus funds from previous years and a reduction in parking en- forcement costs will allow it to avoid a shortfall and transfer its usual dividend to the city's general revenues, Camp- bell said. joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga City parking revenue in reverse JOYANNE PURSAGA Pandemic prompts projected $11.3-million drop IT'S the question on the lips of every- one who has seen Kiana Jobo's shocking road-rage cellphone video: Who is the man who relentlessly pur- sued and repeatedly rammed her car as she tried desperately to escape? City police confirm they arrested a 57-year-old suspect after last Thurs- day's frightening incident and released him on a promise to appear in court. His identity, however, has not been disclosed to the public. A charge of dan- gerous driving has yet to be sworn in court, Winnipeg Police Service spokes- man Const. Jay Murray told the Free Press in an email Wednesday. "We legally cannot name someone until they have been formally charged," Murray said. "A promise to appear does not constitute a formal charge, and it is something that happens at an administrative level as the document is processed. However, if someone is detained in custody, it's much more im- mediate and often happens by the time we issue a media release." Under section 493.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada, police are required to give primary consideration to releas- ing an accused "at the earliest reason- able opportunity" and "on the least onerous conditions that are appropriate in the circumstances." If a suspect is arrested without war- rant, as in this case, they are to be re- leased as soon as practicable if police intend to compel their appearance in court by way of summons or appear- ance notice, or if the accused provides an undertaking, or promise, to police. "In this situation (and many others), the Winnipeg Police Service used Crim- inal Code principles to establish that the individual needed to be released on a promise to appear," Murray wrote. "This isn't a decision that is made lightly, and it is not unusual - every day we are obligated by legal guidelines to release people in a similar manner, sometimes even for firearm-related and/or violent offences." Before agreeing to release an ac- cused on a promise to appear, police are required to take several factors into consideration, Murray wrote, includ- ing: does the person have prior or pend- ing charges for not appearing in court? Are there any outstanding warrants for their arrest? Do they have previous convictions for escaping custody or not complying with court orders? "This is a very standard release mechanism," he wrote. "Not only for the Winnipeg Police Service, but many other police agencies across Canada as well." Manitoba Public Insurance, mean- while, confirmed it is conducting its own investigation into the incident, which damaged other vehicles in addi- tion to Jobo's. "Not only will criminal charges pos- sibly be on (the accused driver), they also could be paying back thousands and thousands of dollars to MPI on be- half of its customers," said MPI media co-ordinator Brian Smiley. Jobo, a 25-year-old business admin- istration student, had just finished writing her last exam of the semester and was out running errands with her father last Thursday, including making funeral arrangements for her grand- parents who had died from COVID-19, when she made a left turn from Sargent Avenue onto Milt Stegall Drive, an- gering the male driver of a white Chev- rolet pickup truck. "He was going the opposite direction in the median lane, so I was turning left and I guess I was in his lane," Jobo told the Free Press earlier this week. The pickup driver began aggressive- ly following Jobo, at which point she told her father to pull out his phone and record the man's licence plate number. The man proceeded to ram Jobo's car three times in rapid succession on Milt Stegall Drive and again on Portage Av- enue near Polo Park, causing her to spin out and crash into the median. Jobo estimates the chase lasted 10 minutes before she made her way to the nearby RCMP's Portage Avenue head- quarters desperately looking for help. "It's not just a person having road rage - it was a vicious, relentless act of violence," Jobo said. dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca Man accused of road-rage ramming not formally charged yet DEAN PRITCHARD Suspect arrested, released on promise to appear in court JESSE BOILY / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Kiana Jobo was the victim of a road-rage incident last week, with her car repeatedly rammed. SNOW ON THE GO Pasquale Vovino clears snow with a snowblower Wednesday in front of Architectonic Iron Works on Wall Street in Winnipeg. The forecast calls for mainly sunny skies and little chance of snow over the next two days with a high today of -22 C and a high of -9 C on Christmas Day. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS B_01_Dec-24-20_FP_01.indd B1 2020-12-23 8:30 PM ;