At the Regular Council Meeting on September 18, 2023, Council approved launching a trial period for a paid parking program throughout designated parking areas in the Drumheller Valley, as recommended by Administration. This trial period will begin on October 2, 2023, and will operate until October 31, 2023. Residents and visitors will begin to see paid parking signage installation taking place beginning on September 18, 2023, and carrying on until October 2, 2023.   

The paid parking program is a partnership between HotSpot Parking and the Town of Drumheller with the intention of generating revenue to assist with necessary upgrades and infrastructure maintenance due to an increased number of visitors to the Drumheller Valley.  

This trial is intended to manage the risk of implementation roll out and will test the approach used for implementation further in the program. By using a trial period, our team will be able to test logistics, communications and better communicate information and gather feedback from the public. The intention behind trialing the paid parking project in the month of October is to carry out the trial period during an applicable month, as the paid parking program will take place between May 1 and October 31 annually, with the potential for changes in approach, scope and direction if so required.  

Throughout the duration of the trial period, Town of Drumheller Municipal Enforcement will not be providing fines to those who have not paid for parking. The trial period grants the Town teams the ability to evaluate and refine processes and allocate resources effectively, without penalizing the public as the process is being finalized.  

Beginning on September 18, 2023, residents of the Drumheller Valley will be eligible to register their vehicles for Residential Parking Permits. The Residential Parking Permits are available to residents who live in the Drumheller Valley and allow for registered vehicles to park for free in designated paid parking zones. Without a Residential Parking Permit, residents’ vehicles will not be recognized by the HotSpot Parking systems and will be at risk of receiving parking violation tickets if parking in designated paid parking areas.  

The steps to register for a Residential Parking Permit are as follows: 

• Download the HotSpot Parking application from the Play Store or Apple Store.
• Log in / create a HotSpot Parking account (either via hotspotparking.com/users/usersignup or through the mobile application).
• Have your two pieces of identification, one proof of residency and one proof of address ready. This can include:
  • Utility bills (power, water, etc.);
  • Lease agreement; or
  • Property assessment or tax notice.
• Go to Permits option at the bottom of the screen.
• Go to Add Vehicle.
• Input your vehicle information, which includes:
  • Licence plate number;
  • Province of registration; and
  • Make and model of the vehicle (optional).
• Once your vehicle(s) are added, go to the Permits option at the bottom of the screen.
• Go to Apply for Permit under the Special Permits heading.
• Input your information as required, including:
  • Town of residence;
  • Address;
  • Municipality;
  • Postal code; and
  • License plate number (optional secondary plate number can be added).
• There will be a prompt before you upload proof of residency and proof of address. Allow access to the camera to move forward.
• Upload the files for your proof of residency and proof of address and/or take the photos and confirm each one after you take them. The first photo will be for the proof of residency and the second photo will be for the proof of address. Once you hit Yes after the second photo is uploaded, your application to apply for a Residential Parking Permit will be submitted.

For assistance registering for any permit type, please contact HotSpot Parking Support at 1-855-712-5888 or emailing support@htsp.ca. For any additional questions, please contact Emergency and Protective Services by calling 403-823-1363, or emailing protectiveservices@drumheller.ca.  

Throughout the month of October, Administration encourages Town of Drumheller residents and visitors to provide feedback regarding the trial of the paid parking program by submitting through an online survey, or by being sent to protectiveservices@drumheller.ca. Following the trial period and after feedback is gathered and questions are answered, a report will be presented back to Council, with a copy of a What We Heard Report to be made available online.  

For more information about the Paid Parking Project, please visit drumheller.ca.