As a business owner in downtown Guelph for 35 years I have heard thousands of complaints about the City of Guelph’s downtown on-street parking policy. But this year I have heard nothing but kudos for the city’s pilot project. Comments like, “Finally, the city has taken this downtown seriously.” or “I had just about given up coming downtown but this has totally changed my attitude.” are made several times a day. I am sure that you all know that people are more likely to complain than to give compliments. Let me assure you that it has been a year of compliments for the city.
My own business, The Bookshelf, has suffered deflation of 10 to 15% in prices because of the Canadian dollar. This has been difficult – it would be like cutting your budgets by 10-15% while trying to give the same level of service. So although the price of books is down, our units are up. We are selling more books at lower prices. This is most definitely a reflection of the increased traffic and I would like to attribute it, at least partially, to the 2 hour free parking pilot. BM