downtown parking (2 hour limit on streets)

A resident’s observations.

I have the following information to pass onto you regarding parking downtown. After speaking to the parking attendant, the parking office, a business owner downtown and my family and friends, some people thought it should be known how some people feel about he 2 hour parking limit and some of the concerns surrounding it.

I emailed the parking office the followiing:

I am not able to attend the parking meetings, however, I would like to share a couple of ideas regarding parking in the downtown core.

The 2 hour limit for parking downtown at the street level does the following:

– is not effective for people needing to go to multiple locations downtown to do all appointments, errands, etc.
– creates lack of interest for people to go downtown
– people will rather go to the mall and large box stores where parking is free
– it is invasive to track a car from one spot to another, leaving the patron with a feeling of being followed and privacy exposed
– $35 ticket is way too expensive
– this parking arrangement gives the impression that the downtown is exclusive
– It is not enough time
– does not work for people with babies, young children, pregnant women
– changes Guelphs reputation of being a large city with a small town atmosphere
– does not always work when considering extreme weather conditions
– does not work when considering physical issues that does not allow people to walk from a lot but are still not eligible for a handicap
– after checking with the parking attendants and city parking office they say they get complaints every day about the parking laws surrounding the 2 hour
limit
– parking rules should be clearly defined at the street level for all to understand
– parking rules should not be complicated and have too many layers to understand….it generates mistakes and tickets
– visitors to Guelph should feel welcome and not go away with a ticket when visiting the city
– the downtown will loose business
– parking tickets should not be a means of generating income for the city when it’s based on unclear and unrealistic time frames
– downtown business should be built on patronage not a high turnover of one time clients that decide they need to take their business elsewhere to avoid tickets
– Unsatisfied patrons, business owners and people working and living in the core EF