Daily Herald
The City of Prince Albert is looking to make downtown parking easier by introducing online payment options and a new mobile parking app in 2026.
City administrators said this will enable residents and visitors to pay for hourly, weekly, monthly parking online at meters and across Prince Albert as an alternative to coins, meter cards and hard copy parking permits.
“We have had significant feedbacks from folks that park in the city that we need to have a more modern, up to date and easier way to park especially in downtown where there are just parking meters and people don’t often have coins to plug meters,” said Anna Dinsdale, Community Safety and Well-Being Manager with the City of Prince Albert.
“The introduction of a parking ap creates much more flexibility. It’s another payment option and we hope it will make parking much easier for people.”
Dinsdale said students who study at Prince Albert’s university campuses were a concern. She said the online payment method is a way to support their education.
“We have a lot of students here who may not be able to run out of lectures to plug a meter,” she explained.
Dinsdale said the new payment option is an addition to the current payment options, not a replacement. Other methods including coins or meter cards, and the purchase of permits in person at City Hall will still be available.
The City of Prince Albert is working with PayByPhone to introduce an easy-to-use online app and new kiosks at City-owned parking lots in downtown Prince Albert, 10 Avenue East near Saskatchewan Polytechnic, and the Prince Albert Airport. The mobile app will allow residents and visitors to pay for parking with their credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a PayPal account, track payments and receipts through their online account, and extend their parking time downtown without having to run to the meter.
Parking rates for 2026 have been adjusted for inflation and include a 25 cent increase per hour at parking meters. The increase to $1.50 per hour is the first since 2017 in Prince Albert. Parking on Central Avenue is limited to only two hours so as to control traffic, while the side streets are open.
Dinsdale said they hope to have the new payment options up and running within the next four weeks. The City is interested in public feedback on parking options, and an online survey will be circulated later in 2026 for residents and visitors to submit their comments or questions.
“We recognize that parking is an issue that is quite contentious in our community,” she said.
The City will put up more signs and make more announcements to further create more awareness among the residents.
“This kind of public announcement is leading and when we implement it we will do another kind of public announcements and there will be signs going up,” Dinsdale added. “The meters are not going away so people can still pay with the meters.”
PayByPhone operates in more than 1,300 cities worldwide, including Canada, the United States, and Europe. In Saskatchewan, PayByPhone also works in cooperation with the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Regina and the City of Regina.
