Ottawa could make a lot more money from its on-street parking if it improved management of the system and developed a parking strategy, according to the city's auditor general Alain Lalonde.

"We need to understand the numbers. We need to understand the impact [of parking] in each area, and that analysis isn't being done," Lalonde told city council Wednesday.

On-street parking generated $7 million in revenue for the city in 2007. But Lalonde said it could have been a lot more.

The lack of a parking strategy means aging parking meters can go uninspected for a long time, he said, and when they break down they don't get fixed.

City staff agree with the auditor that changes have to be made.

They will present a parking management strategy to city council later this spring.

The general manager of public works, John Manconi, said he wants a new system in place by the spring of 2010.

"All the meters would disappear. We'd move to pay-and-display technology. [There would be] better data, better utilization, more convenience for our users," he said.

He said that new parking strategy should allow the city to increase its revenues between 10 and 20 per cent.