Fredonia, in its quest to find more revenues, is looking to revamp its parking collection fee through an agreement with HONKMobile USA Ltd. Last week, trustees approved moving forward with a contract with the company.

HONKMobile USA Ltd. is the American arm of Toronto-based HONK, a company that works with municipalities to install parking systems which revolve around cellular phones and QR codes. Signs replace parking meters and the signs contain information on how to pay for parking spaces through use of a cell phone and the Internet.

According to an article over the weekend, the agreement lets HONK charge the village $50 per month per parking zone for use of their services. The size and location of the zones are not specified, but are intended to be in downtown Fredonia.

“This is merely a start in negotiations with (HONK). We’re not creating new zones, there will be signs where meters currently are, so we’re not taking away parking opportunities,” Mayor Michael Ferguson said. “There’s also free parking (in the municipal lots)… and side road parking would remain the same. So this is just taking (it) to the next level of negotiating, so we can determine what those costs may be.”

Many municipalities that have thriving downtowns already have a parking system similar to this in place. The question moving forward is how punitive is the system going to be? Is it going to discourage residents and visitors from going shopping on Main Street?

We understand the troubles facing the village financially. But more parking revenues — a minor revenue line — are not going to fix those ills.