In spite of peanut gallery resistance, Outremont parking changes pass

Testy Outremont residents shouted, chanted and threw symbolic peanuts at the borough's mayor Thursday afternoon, but in the end Outremont council moved to pass new parking regulations, as planned.

The new rules replace the borough's remaining free parking spaces with a permit system for residents and local workers and limit free parking for non-residents to two hours.

Thursday's meeting was suspended at one point in order to calm unruly residents, who chanted "Non!" in unison when the vote was called.

"You've described the citizens as a 'peanut gallery,'" one resident shouted from the gallery, walking to the front row of seats. "This refers to the people in the room who are poor and seated in the front row, and when they're not satisfied with the show, they throw peanuts."

With that, he lobbed three peanuts at borough Mayor Philipe Tomlinson.

After taking his seat, the man noted, "They're good. They're unsalted."

$400K a year

The borough hopes to raise nearly $400,000 annually through the parking change. Tomlinson has said the money collected from the permits will go toward green initiatives, such as improving infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists and caring for the borough's trees.

The permit sticker will cost residents $140 per year. A monthly permit for non-residents who work in the area will cost $100 and a daily permit will cost $10.

A cap of two free hours will be put in place for non-permit holders.

Until now, parking has been free on about 60 per cent of the borough's streets. The rest is metered parking on streets such as Bernard Avenue.