Parking

Parking Rules & Fees

Courtesy of local downtown merchants and the City of Owen Sound, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, the following applies:

• 2 hours of free parking in the downtown core
• 5 hours of free parking in all municipal lots

The two hours of free parking apply per city block. The timing starts when you first park in that block. You have two hours from that time. The same applies to the municipal parking lots. The five hours of free parking begins when you first enter the lot. If you visit downtown several times throughout the day, and your original two hours of free parking on one block or five hours of free parking in a municipal lot has expired, you would need to park in a parking spot in a different block or in a different municipal lot for the free two hour/five-hour free parking to start again.

Parking is free on Saturday, Sunday and City holidays.

Accessible Parking

An accessible parking permit allows you to park for free in any parking space downtown Owen Sound - all time limits and other rules still apply. You must have an accessible permit to park in an accessible parking space. All of the permit, including the expiry date, must be visible.

To apply for an accessible parking permit, or to renew an existing permit, contact Service Ontario.

Monthly Parking

Buy a monthly lot pass at City Hall or the Transit Terminal for $30.00/month or $20/month after the 15th day of the month. Please note - you can only use your lot pass in parking lots, and it does not guarantee you a space.

Annual Parking

Annual daytime parking passes are now available - a new option for those with long-term parking requirements in the River District starting in 2023.

For $300, inclusive of taxes, the new annual parking passes allow for daytime parking (from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) in any municipal lot, from January 1, 2023, until December 31, 2023.  This price point offers a discount equivalent to two months of long-term parking.  Monthly passes are still available to purchase at City Hall or the Transit Terminal.

Annual passes can currently only be purchased at City Hall and can only be tied to one license plate.  For tracking purposes, the license plate number will be on file as well as the physical pass must be displayed inside vehicles.

Overnight Parking (1 a.m. to 7 a.m.)

From April to November, you may park in parking lots or on most streets at night for no charge.

From December to March (winter parking):

• Do not park on any City streets at night.
• You may buy a night parking pass for $20.00/month at City Hall to park in the overnight parking area in Parking Lot 5 (800 block of 3rd Avenue East) and Parking Lot 9 (700 block of 1st Avenue East).

Parking Fines

Fines range from $20 to $350; some tickets have a lower fine if you pay early.

Parking and Traffic By-laws, Policies and Legislation

For more information, please see the following:

Owen Sound

• Traffic By-law
• Unauthorized Parking By-law
• Fire Route By-law
• Parking Ticket Review Policy

Grey County

Grey County parking and traffic by-laws

Ontario

Highway Traffic Act

Parking Equipment

Please use the report a concern section of this site or call 519-376-4440 ext. 1227 to report any missing or broken equipment like parking meters, parking signs etc. To help us serve you better, please provide the location and nature of the problem.

Parking Management and Enforcement

The objective of parking services is to:

"Contribute to a vital downtown core by supplying adequate and convenient parking while maintaining a system of cost recovery."

All parking services are paid for by user fees and by a contribution by the Owen Sound Downtown Improvement Association (DIA). No funding is paid by property taxpayers. All revenue is used to provide services and any excess revenue at the end of the year must be held in a reserve account for future equipment or capital improvements.

Parking Enforcement Officers are available to answer questions about parking services and to enforce the rules to ensure safety, proper traffic flow and that spaces are used properly (i.e. for people with disabilities).