As more people learn about the coming 75 percent increase in the cost of parking vouchers in Hamilton they are expressing their dislike of the change.

In an e-mail sent to The Royal Gazette, Sean Morris says that he believes the cost increase, which the Corporation of Hamilton says is to help ease congestion, is merely an attempt to make money.

"This increase will do nothing to reduce congestion within city limits and encourage people to use the parking lots," Mr. Morris wrote. "This is simply and clearly to boost revenue, nothing else."

Newbold Smith also doubted the new increases. "Despite the reasons given by the Corporation of Hamilton, this increase has nothing to do with traffic control," he wrote.

"Who in their right mind is going over to Bulls Head to park when the only reason they are in town is an errand."

The Corporation of Hamilton announced last week that the cost of a book of parking vouchers was increasing from $10 to $17.50.

In another e-mail, Heather Roque wrote that while an increase might be viable, that it would not help local businesses as the Corporation had said, but instead that it might hurt them.

"It may have a negative impact on retailers in the long-run as less people will want to come into town due to the increase," she wrote. "Lower income individuals with certain disabilities will also suffer due to the difficulty in walking long distances to their vehicles and higher cost."

An 85-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, also worried about the distance between Bulls Head and the downtown area.

"I cannot walk more than 30 to 40 yards without having to stop for a rest, thus parking at City Hall or Bulls Head is out of the question if I want to visit a store or office on Reid Street, Queen Street, Court Street, or Front Street," she wrote, suggesting that the elderly should receive free parking.

Other suggestions sent to this newspaper included a shuttle to and from Bulls Head, prosecuting illegal parkers more frequently, and only allowing parking on alternating days based on license plate numbers.

While the majority of letters sent to The Royal Gazette regarding the vouchers questioned the decision, there was one which took a calmer approach.

"$1.75 is cheap per hour compared to other cities and kerb-side parking is considered a premium location," wrote Julie Preece. "There are not that many stores in Hamilton where you can make a large scale purchase anymore but even so, if you want to buy a bulky item and you don't want to pay $1.75 to park outside the shop, then get the store to deliver it for $50.

"Compared to that, $1.75 seems quite cheap now, doesn't it?"