The following article appeared in the June 29 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
The lack of parking downtown is almost at the point where it will discourage people from visiting the core, a city staff report to be presented Monday suggests.
Once the occupancy level of parking spaces reaches 80 to 85 per cent — as it often did during 2010 — “it is considered to be at or near capacity,” the report suggests.
“At this level of occupancy the search time for a parking space increases significantly and there is a risk that people who come to the area to shop, for example, will become frustrated and decide to shop elsewhere,” reads the report, prepared by traffic and parking manager Allister McIlveen.
McIlveen is to present the first annual report on downtown parking to the operations and transit committee at 5 p.m.
The report aims to provide an overview of the current parking supply and demand, as well as parking-related financial data and parking ticket data.
“This is an extremely important report, in that it gives us some baseline information about what’s going on downtown,” said Coun. Ian Findlay, chair of the committee and a downtown business owner.
While finding a parking spot is not easy now, Findlay said he is concerned about the long term, especially with provincial legislation targeting Guelph’s core area for intensive development.
“As a municipality we are responsible for providing parking,” Findlay said. “It’s key to attracting development.”
As development opportunities arise, the report says, “one of the first questions asked is regarding the availability of monthly parking for employees and daily parking for customers.
“These questions are becoming increasingly difficult to satisfy,” McIlveen wrote.
Coun. Bob Bell, whose ward includes the downtown, said as major downtown projects come to fruition, “the lack of parking capacity will immediately go into a critical phase.
“As soon as the GO station opens and the (civic) museum opens … parking lot vacancies are going to get into that 90 per cent range, which basically means we’re full,” Bell said. “It should never get to that.”
While both councillors agree more parking is the solution, they are divided on how best to raise the money needed to provide it. Findlay is a fan of free two-hour on-street parking in the core, while Bell believes parking should be free in lots, but that those using meters should pay for the convenience.
“If we continue to offer free on-street parking, those spots will always be full,” Bell said. “You need to have empty spots available all the time or people just get frustrated. That’s why people go to the malls.”
Findlay noted there are still empty spots downtown “but where is that capacity and is it where we need it?”
It might not be, according to McIlveen’s report.
Most of the available downtown parking spaces are in the Baker Street lot and West Parkade. “Staff acknowledges that although there is a capacity of 315 spaces in these facilities, the downtown is comprised of various zones for shopping, businesses etc. and that the locations of the available parking may not be ideal for serving the various entities and needs within certain zones of the downtown,” the report reads.