The City of Calgary welcomes the Calgary Parking Authority (CPA) into our organization

In July 2021, Council made the decision to fully integrate the Calgary Parking Authority into The City as part of ongoing work to transform the organization as part of our “Rethink to Thrive” strategy.

The recommendation evolved out of the investigation of the potential for the CPA to become separate from The City as a Municipally Controlled Corporation (MCC). An integrated City services option was also developed to identify possible governance and business model opportunities for the CPA. After careful consideration of both options, Council directed to proceed with the integrated City services approach.

Since it was founded more than 50 years ago, the CPA has continued to be part of The City but operating on various levels as a separate organization. The new structure will move the CPA to an embedded services model to deliver coordinated, streamlined processes that provide better value to citizens and the business community. With the transition, no disruption of service for customers is anticipated.

“We are excited to have the CPA join The City. This integration offers us new opportunities to think differently about how we provide parking services to citizens, especially as parking evolves over the next 20 years with initiatives such as adaptative patios, ridesharing and autonomous vehicles,” says General Manager of Transportation Doug Morgan. “As a result of this transition, no operational changes are planned to occur over the next few months. Citizens can continue to expect the same level of service as they do today.”

With the departure of the CPA’s Acting General Manager Moe Houssaini, Chris Blaschuk has been assigned to this role. “Chris is well suited to lead the CPA during this period of transition. Supported by a strong operational team at the CPA, I am confident that he will provide the leadership needed to ensure the integration is successful,” says Morgan.

The integration of the CPA is a thoughtful approach to improving service delivery by leveraging the support of City resources behind the work in progress, reducing silos and streamlining workflows. This means less red tape and faster responses to citizens. In addition, initial work exploring the integration option determined that savings of $20 million could be achieved over the next 10 years.

Integrating CPA’s operations with The City’s new organizational structure will be a complex process. Although many of the details need to be worked out, the CPA brand is strong and will continue to be innovative, adaptable and collaborative while providing excellent customer service to citizens.