Commuter confusion and revenue concerns continue to fuel criticism of the reserved parking system at Calgary LRT lots, with at least one alderman stating he would bring back the daily $3 fee “in a heartbeat.”

Council voted a year ago to introduce a reserved parking system for up to 50 per cent of the available spaces at LRT stations in the city after scrapping a mandatory $3 charge for all vehicles the year prior.

But opponents of the system say complaints have yet to subside from perplexed constituents opting not to fork out the reservation charge.

“The $3 fee was simple,” said Ald. Gael Macleod. “The situation we have now ‘ trying to balance supply and demand ‘ is going to be confusing no matter what we do.”

The committee report does concede that the reservation system is not “customer-friendly,” has limited flexibility and is prone to glitches. Work is underway to develop a new system and the report also hints at lowering the reservation fee to $50 at three stations where the service has been sparsely utilized ‘ Anderson, Franklin and McKnight-Westwinds.

Ald. Brian Pincott said further tinkering of the reservation system is indicative of its failures and will likely only serve to bolster frustration.

Those councillors who do continue to support the system are in favour of changes that keep in line with commuter demand.

“You could just simply keep the number of reserved stalls well under 50 per cent … I don’t believe going back to $3 is the answer,” said Ald. Dale Hodges.

Council colleague Gord Lowe disagrees, openly pledging support for a return to the old system that bolstered Calgary Transit coffers by $4 million annually ‘ more than double the revenue currently earned from the reserved system.

“(Transit) is consistently having a lose-lose situation imposed on them by council,” he added.