VICTORIA -- The Capital Regional District's (CRD) parks committee has taken a firm stance against raising parking fees at regional parks, after the idea was floated by staff earlier this week.

A staff report, which was discussed by the committee Wednesday, suggested raising parking prices and expanding where paid parking was collected to offset a rise in park visits and maintenance costs.

On Wednesday, members of the regional parks committee unanimously voted against raising and expanding parking fees to compensate for rising costs. Instead, the committee endorsed using property tax requisitions as the main source of revenue for the operating costs of regional parks.

That being said, CRD staff will still review other ways of generating parking revenue at regional parks, while keeping accessibility and fairness for park users top-of-mind.

The recommendations voted on by the CRD committee Wednesday will be reviewed by the CRD board at a later date, likely during a meeting in March.