The Town of Drumheller is wrapping up its first full paid parking season, which launched on May 1 of this year, and has seen the program gross a total of $112,686.98 at Town-owned parking lots and street parking on Riverside Drive East.
Drumheller council approved the implementation of a paid parking program in June 2023, with the goal to help offset additional pressures put on the Town’s infrastructure and municipal services during the spring and summer months due to increased visitor and tourist traffic.
“Costs (for additional pressures on infrastructure and municipal services) were borne by taxpayers, and the goal of paid parking was not to make anybody’s life difficult, but to reasonably recoup costs and to find a fair way to do this to visitors to the valley,” explained Emergency and Protective Services director Greg Peters during the Tuesday, October 15 Committee of the Whole meeting.
During the soft launch of the program in October 2023, stakeholders shared concerns about how the paid parking program may impact attendance at tourist attractions like the World’s Largest Dinosaur and home games for the Drumheller Dragons at the Drumheller Memorial Arena. However, during a presentation by Municipal Enforcement manager Trent Kure, it was noted the parking area of the World’s Largest Dinosaur saw the second highest earnings, bringing in $36,569.87; the Hoodoos parking area had the highest earnings with a total of $49,908.16.
Between May 1 and September 30 of 2024, a total of 245 violation tickets were issued. Of those tickets issued, 44 per cent were voluntarily paid, which accounted for $5,400 in revenue. Unpaid tickets have posed a challenge and will be recouped through the province’s fine procedure.
Mr. Kure noted having an officer presence helped to not only increase compliance, but also helped reduce the number of violations for unpaid parking. Staffing costs accounted for $12,554.57 in expenses.
In total, the program netted $67,527.97 after expenses for the reported period. Mr. Kure explained some expenses, including $8,410.42 for signage and $10,000 for start-up costs associated with the HotSpot residential parking permits, are expected to be reduced in future years.
However, during this pilot period, some challenges were identified. This includes a lack of cell service at the Hoodoos parking area, which limited visitor ability to pay; this could also extend to out-of-country visitors who may not have access to a wireless network. It was suggested these issues could be addressed by having a wireless internet connection available, though this would incur additional costs for installation as well as monthly charges.
A total of 2,759 residential parking permits have been issued to date, which will be valid through to October 31, 2027; an additional 142 special recreation exempt permits have also been issued for non-residents who hold memberships at the Badlands Community Facility (BCF) and, or Aquaplex which will expire and renew in accordance with each individual recreation membership.

The Lone Pine Wind Project appears to have hit the pause button on its development.
The project is a 350MW wind installation and transmission line in Kneehill County. It is about 15 kilometres west of Three Hills near the communities of Torrington and Sunnyslope.
The project has attracted a groundswell of opposition in the area as it has been working its way through the approval process. In a letter to stakeholders from Project manager Najee Elbaroudi for Capstone Infrastructure Corporation, the proponent of the project, indicates it has hit the pause button.
“Capstone has recently decided to delay the project timelines, meaning we will not be conducting additional public meetings or making an application to the AUC this year. We will be restarting the connection process and postponing AUC application by about 2 years,” states the letter.
It notes the changes in the Alberta market.
“The Alberta electricity market is in a period of change, and for companies like Capstone, this uncertainty creates complexity when developing projects that are reaching key project milestones where design and financial decisions need to be made. As you may know, the Alberta government, AESO, and AUC have been consulting on potential changes in transmission regulations, and electricity market rules more broadly, intending to increase reliability and affordability for ratepayers. On-going regulatory consultation following the moratorium on renewable electricity development are expected to continue into late 2024/early 2025,” it notes.
With this pause, it potentially puts the Earliest Commercial Operation Date back from the fourth quarter of 2028 to the fourth quarter of 2029.
It goes on to say the proponent has seen more interest in the project as it was undertaking its public engagement.
“The feedback received has been a mix of common questions and concerns for wind projects, but also many myths and mistruths. Capstone is committed to ensuring thorough consultation and fact-based dialogue with local stakeholders about Lone Pine, including one-on-one meetings, open houses, newsletters, and more,” notes the letter.
Pausing the project may allow for more conversation.
Delaying the AUC application will provide further opportunity for Capstone to engage with the community after adapting the proposed project to the final regulatory outcomes,” states the letter.
Wind Concerns Kneehill County maintains a Facebook page, and in a post welcomes the changes.
“Wind Concerns Kneehill County is very pleased to hear about the official "ON HOLD" status of the Lone Pine Wind Project,” it states.
“Additionally, after a recent 1-on-1 meeting with Minister Neudorf, we look forward to changes coming to the AUC regarding renewable projects and how these changes will affect this particular project! Minister Neudorf indicated they hope to have the amended regulations in place by the end of the year.”