The borough of Outremont has put the brakes on a plan to charge all drivers for street parking.
At a council meeting on Tuesday, borough councillor Jean-Marc Corbeil appeared to run his own mini-filibuster, running out the clock as the meeting came to its set end time of 11 p.m.
That will force the issue to return to the agenda for another vote to a special council meeting on Thursday.
The delay comes after outrage from hundreds of residents over several council meetings, after Borough Mayor Philipe Tomlinson proposed the permit-parking plan in May, saying that parking on every street should require a permit.
He claimed people who live outside of Outremont were taking parking spaces and making it difficult for residents.
But at meetings on June 3 and again on June 19, and in other discussions, hundreds of residents lined up to question the borough's plan, with many calling for a public consultation process.
Tomlinson had hoped the permit plan would be approved on Tuesday and implemented by October. Instead, Corbeil forced a delay by speaking until 11 p.m., and refusing to vote.
"We have also had requests from residents of four streets to ban street parking entirely," said Tomlinson.
About 60 per cent of all street parking in the borough is available without payments, with the remainder being in areas that require permits, or in commercial sections with parking meters.
The borough has seen an increase in the number of cars owned by residents, going from about 8,500 in 2008 to 9,500 in 2013.
- CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said the vote would occur at the next regular borough coucnil meeting on Sept. 3, but it will occur on Thursday at a special meeting.
