I think this is great! If I’m downtown getting my hair done, depending on what my appointment is for, it can easily go close to 3 hours long. And spending an afternoon having lunch and shopping with friends can also push the 3 hour mark. And tracking those who hop scotch is something I’m completely onboard with – perhaps downtown employers should consider paying for parking passes for employees so that their customers have somewhere to park. There’s been a few time’s I’ve circled around down there to stop at one specific place, only to give up completely and go somewhere else.

I’m all on board with this. People who work downtown have been parking for free for too long. Get a parking pass. PG has been missing out on too much revenue.

Why don’t they just open more off-street lots so less people need to park on the street?

Why is the lot at 4th & Dominion blocked off? (behind the Achillion)

In recent years downtown has lost parking lots on 5th by the bowling alley for the new BCGEU building, the lot across from the Keg, the lot behind the Achillion, and the lot across from the Days Inn… the last three are just closed off and vacant. And those are just the lots I can think of at the moment. So of course there are going to be more cars parking on the street.

Instead of worrying so much about who is parking where, why not just make more parking, or at least open up the parking lots that are still there!

@dan

There are tons of spots open. In fact, I think I read somewhere that the lots downtown have about 30% availability.

“…a new parking plan for downtown that would see the introduction of a license plate recognition program…”

Any idea if this is the same million dollar plus plan to have a van cruising around during business hours continuously scanning license plates?

So basically then you will be limited to 3 hours downtown a day, unless you purchase a off street parking spot somewhere. Oh this is such a limiting plan for the future of the downtown. I am often downtown for more than 3 hours a day, but all over the place.
If the city would just deal with the employers who should be providing parking for their employees this wouldn’t be an issue.
Like how the new WIDC is loosing two parking lots, to make a park and bus loop. Part of the plan for that building should have been to provide off street parking !

There is a bylaw the specifies how many parking spaces are needed for every commercial development. It is a bylaw designed to ensure adequate parking for employees, owners, and patrons.

The sticky wicket is there that there is an easy way to get a waiver from the city on this requirement. That is the common development procedure now to get that waiver.

I would bet that if someone were to investigate, the WIDC developer or other principle got this waiver.

Now we are playing musical parking spots.

The solution is simple: enforce the required parking for each and every business.

To the joker that suggested that downtown workers have been getting a free ride for parking for too long; if it were not for these workers, this town would not need to exist, plus if a person works out of the downtown, there is no parking problems. Why should I have to pay to park for employment when most others do not?

Give your head a shake.

It really is not the shop keepers responsibility to find parking space for employees. They may choose to subsidize the parking, but not their sole responsibility.

I think the whole idea is to get workers into parking lots, customers to street parking.

That is a great question for the city to answer he spoke.

Who is responsible for staff parking and who is responsible for customer parking?

If it is as you say, then employers are not living up to their responsibilities.

One of the reasons I do not live in a big city is parking availability.

I don’t buy the line “if it were not for these workers, this town would not need to exist, plus if a person works out of the downtown, there is no parking problems.” Really? So, we have to give them free parking so that PG doesn’t cease to exist? How about this: they have a job, just like I do, and if I don’t want my job, there will be someone else right behind me very grateful to take my job.

I do not work downtown and I pay for parking. If I don’t want to pay for my parking, I can walk, ride or take public transit. I choose to drive to work, so I pay the price for that choice. I don’t complain about it.

No one subsidizes me. Why shouldn’t people working downtown have to pay to park? Just because they work downtown? Does this make them special in some way?

I am surprised any businesses survive in the down town core. I have tried on several occasion to shop down there only to be discouraged by the lack of parking. On occasion that I have managed to find parking I found it astounding at the lack of shoppers.

Problem with this is that the off-street parking is limited and expensive. I myself pay for a monthly spot that I have had for years and the price keeps going up. Make the off-street parking more affordable and those downtown workers will move into the lots – if there are any spots available.

Also need to expand the zone to include City Hall parking lot. Why does everyone else that works downtown have to pay $60 or more a month for parking and City workers can still park for free??

Downtownparker has it right. The City employee’s should be subject to the same parking charges as other people who work downtown. There should be no freebies for City workers.

I think that the City had better think long and hard about what they are doing with this 3 hour parking plan.

We need to know what the parameters of the free parking Zone are, and how they will be calculated. As an example a person could go to the bank and around town in the AM and burn up three hours, then return in the afternoon and go to the Northern. Since he burned up his three hours in the AM is he now subject to a fine. What if the husband had the car in the morning and the wife in the afternoon. Are they going to have to communicate with each other to determine how much time they have used on any given day.

This sounds like a phony way of bringing in the new license recognition program. The City will spend millions to collect thousands.

The system is working fairly well as it now stands. Leave the bloody parking issue alone and get on with some more serious City business.

Cost of this program ? Return on the investment ?

Just watch the stream of workers coming out of Northern Health everyday to do the shuffle.. Many other workers do it as well.. BTW they will just park a bit farther away in the new 3 hr zones..

We have been hearing about downtown revitilization for decades.. Does city council think this will help or hinder it ? Have they heard from any business owners about this proposal ?

Is this something else our council will make a very quick decision with little or no input from the public?