Parking on the street in downtown Kamloops will get a little more expensive come January 1.

It’ll increase to a $1.50 an hour for the first two hours, and $3.00 for the third hour.

City Bylaw Services Manager John Ramsay says it’ll bring the city an extra $150,000 in revenue.

“It was part of the bylaw, it was already a scheduled increase,” he said.

“The reason why we looked at the parking rate for increases was to make sure that people are choosing the right type of transportation, and getting the right type of parking for their needs.”

The increases were set to kick in on January 1, 2018 before being delayed by a year, at the request of the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association (KCBIA).

It will only affect metered on-street parking – Ramsay added there are no plans to increase the number of meters downtown.

He also said the extra revenue will cover operating costs, with any excess going to the Downtown Parking Solutions Infrastructure Reserve fund.

The old rates were $1.25 per hour for the first two hours and $2.50 for the third hour.