By Kathleen Smith
At a recent council meeting, the topic of adding parking lots for the downtown core traffic was discussed.
In a report to council, Sean Thomas, Director of Community Services, Infrastructure and Operations (DOO), recommended council direct staff to include a proposed parking lot at 34-44 Stanley Street.
The planned reconstruction of the downtown core presents an opportunity to address parking needs in the area.
With the downtown core scheduled for reconstruction commencing in the spring of 2025, the project will transform the area into a pedestrian-focused space.
This necessitates additional parking solutions to accommodate residents and visitors.
There are town-owned vacant lands at 34-44 Stanley Street, and developing parking lots in that space could help mitigate parking and traffic congestion during the construction phase and provide additional parking relief.
“The planned reconstruction of the downtown core presents an opportunity to address parking needs in the area,” wrote Thomas.
“Developing additional parking on town-owned vacant lands at 34-44 Stanley Street could be beneficial.”
This addition to the reconstruction project would require a firm acceptance by council prior to committing any funds to a new parking lot.
According to Thomas this new parking lot could alleviate the parking strain from the courts and county administration building, freeing up valuable downtown spaces for shoppers.
This strategy could be particularly effective in conjunction with a future by-law update for time-restricted on-street parking for the square.
“Including this project as an optional part of the 2024 Road Construction Tender could secure favourable unit pricing,” added Thomas in the report.
“Completing the parking lots by the end of 2024 ensures that additional parking will be available before the Downtown Core Reconstruction Project begins.”
Providing this additional parking lot would provide users with the option to park off street and use the area on foot, which could decrease vehicle and pedestrian conflicts, and east parking congestion on the square.
Furthermore, to this topic, members of council suggested the possibility of a parking strategy or parking plan for the downtown core. Thomas agreed that a parking study could help inform council on the necessity of parking lots and the costs associated with them.
As of now, there is no financial impact associated.