The mayor of Kamloops says paid parking here is cheaper and required less than other like-size cities.

Ken Christian says he believes a parking management plan, to be done by next summer, will go in depth on that matter.

He says paid parking isn’t meant to pad city coffers but rather to keep people moving along.

“So that they will use a spot, do their business and then leave. Because they’re paying for it and they value it. So the notion of having free parking is maybe nice, but quite quickly you would see employees fill all of those spots and you’d have no room for customers.”

Christian was commenting after city council voted to put off bringing in paid parking on Saturdays for two city-owned parkades downtown, on Lansdowne and on Seymour. Paid parking could be implemented in those parkades after the parking management plan is finished in July.