WATERLOO - Some residents may feel like there isn't enough parking in the Waterloo core but a city study suggests on-street and off-street parking is underused.

And the results mean a long-awaited new parking structure in the core will likely be put off.

Parking usage rates were a shock for Coun. Melissa Durrell who said she often hears from residents about a lack of parking.

Durrell asked for a communication plan to help deal with the issue.

"It was scandalous and shocking to me (to see the numbers) so that disconnect is a major issue for me. . . . Obviously it goes into communications and I would like to see a fulsome report on how we can deal with this," she said.

The consultant study showed generally on-street and off-street (city lots and parkade) at peak weekday times was between 58 and 60 per cent.

On Saturdays maximum parking accumulation reached 57 per cent on-street and 38 per cent off-street.

Staff will conduct another study in 2018 when light rail is supposed to be running to see how the new transportation service has impacted parking habits.

A financial model to run the city's parking program will be completed as part of a zoning bylaw review currently underway. The goal of the financial model is to have parking fees cover the cost of providing the service.

Coun. Mark Whaley said it makes sense to put off any concrete plans for a new parking structure until the impact of light rail is measured.

"The Ion is going to be a game changer and we just need to take some time," he said.

The parking financial model and another utilization study will be brought back in 2018.

For a few years now Waterloo has discussed how to sell its many city-owned parking lots for development as part of intensification plans.

Monday politicians endorsed in principle several potential locations for parking structures, including the Waterloo Town Square South lot, the city hall parking lot and north for Erb/east of King.

The endorsement isn't a guarantee.

"I view the list that's showing up here as not a definitive approval list but as confirmation that as we get to a different stage in the future that we're not taking this off the list but they may make sense," Coun. Jeff Henry said.

Waterloo owns more than a dozen different lots in the core. There are about 2,400 spaces within the boundary of the Uptown Business Improvement Area. About 235 are curb parking and the rest are in off-street lots and the city parkade.

Most parking for shoppers and visitors in the uptown is free, but time-limited.

Durrell said it's important to work on those endorsed locations so when the city does sell a lot there's somewhere to accommodate the lost spaces.

"As we move forward with development many of the areas that we are looking to develop are actually city-owned surface parking lots . once we sell or develop those parking lots we need to be ready to pull the trigger on where that parking's going to be put in," she said.

Politicians gave the OK to several recommendations from staff Monday, including:

• That all proceeds from the sale of any city parking lands be put into a reserve fund for future parking infrastructure

•That parking fees be used as a way to encourage carpooling and active transportation

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• That starting in 2018 staff complete annual parking use studies to monitor how light rail transit is impacting parking

• To freeze parking rates for 2017