I disagree with you on this one Ben. It isn't the meters or the lack of meters that is causing the problems downtown. read the posts on other related news items. Some good points are made, and some have offered up some good suggestions to try and help solve the problems downtown.

There might well be some good businesses downtown, but they are vanishing quickly. Why is that? The City wants to continue to raise taxes, while the undesirables are still wandering around town, making a nuisance of themselves. That is why people do not want to go downtown.

The meters are gone, let them stay gone. Now if only we can get this present council to be gone! They have no idea about a budget.

If our budget was X amount of dollars last year, and the people DO NOT WANT ANOTHER TAX INCREASE, then you slash and burn to come within that budget of last year. People in the private sector, are being laid off, are having shifts cut, sent home early, and there is a reduction in most of their hours. I feel bad for them, but that is the way it is right now. My business is down about 50%.

It should not be any different for Government employee's, at any level. If we don't need your services or can do without them for awhile, sorry, you are gone.

The average citizen in this town, can figure out how to cut costs, and reduce spending at City Hall to a point that we should get a tax CUT.

A suggestion Ben, how about having somebody read all Joe Blows suggestions, put them in a package and present them to City Council on a regular basis. I love this site, but I'm afraid that City Council does not read our "POSTS", or they choose to ignore them. If they were presented in person at Council, maybe they would have to start paying attention.

Keep up the good work Ben and Elaine, I have told friends around the world about this site. I want them to know about the community I live in, and you folks enable that. Thank you

I think you're on the right track, Ben. The downtown needs more than a lack of parking meters to attract people. It needs variety and character, it needs to be clean and safe, easy to walk, fun to visit and meet friends. Neat little shops and restaurants, bars, a few good high-end anchor stores, and plenty of parking. Since there probably won't be enough parking, that's where parking meters come in. They create turnover, and the revenue can be used to improve the downtown even further.

More parking...more parking....always more parking.

More parking only caters to the driver. Free parking with high fines did nothing to promote downtown.

Businesses, and more of them, that are people friendly will attract customers. People living in the downtown will improve downtown.

A small, but increasing, customer base is discouraged from conveniently coming downtown.

Customers who use public transit routes 1, 11 and 5 are poorly served by very long distances and poorly placed bus stops. There is a bus stop at 4th and Brunswick with the next stop at 6th and Dominion.

Downtown business frowns on people who support the transit system.

Downtown business, especially downtown business in the 1200 block of 4th avenue, is so concerned about what they perceive as the bad people who use public transit that they successfully had a new bus stop, located on 4th Avenue and Dominion, removed from "their street" on Sept 10, 2009. It was in place only 14 short days.

The people friendly and needed public service bus stop was removed after complaints from business.

Downtown business is not people friendly.

I do not like the parking meters but if they do put them back, the cost of parking on the street should be more per hour than it costs to park in a parkade or parking lot. That is the only way you will get the employees of the downtown stores to park off street.

I agree with taxi here too. Duffer's comment makes the most sense, IF the meters are to be re-installed.
metalman.

Prince George is unique in that it is situated in a small bowl area. Most other large centers spread out and have room for a "skid row" type area that people, who choose, can avoid. The whole downtown of PG is so small, that, once you start putting your social services down there, such as, needle exchange, halfway houses, transition houses, drug addiction centers, etc, you are essentially turning that into a very undesireable place to put a business or to shop. These things have to be relocated somewhere else if people want downtown to be a viable place for business again.

pay to drive, pay to park, pay to ride.
NO!
This is absurd.
Like my daddy used to say, pretty soon you will need to obtain a permit and pay a fee for the privilege of producing a stool.

As with any problem, there is no single solution. It is a right mix of adequate parking, security, appearance, convenience and retailers. If any of these are not what consumers want, consumers will NOT go downtown. That is part of the appeal to consumers of these malls and big box complexes like in College Heights. Consumers do not want to drive all over town. They want selection, price and quality that is easily accessible. If any single element in this mix is missing or lacking, consumers will vote with their wallets.

Removing the awnings in the winter city was a boneheaded idea. Supposedly it was to encourage a consistent appearance. Well it did that, it is now consistently empty.
Knowing that there is a problem with panhandlers and low life street urchins and not deploying foot patrols is just saying, "Go ahead, you can harass the citizenry."

Install visible cameras at each intersection of second, third and fourth avenue from at Victoria to Queensway and actively monitor them. Include the alleyways as well so the junkies cannot use them for market places and a shooting galleries.

Move all support services out of the downtown.
Close the drinking dives. Not all the drinking establishments, just the Croft and the other low price hangouts. If these establishments have a dress code and an acceptable behavior code of conduct, the rummies would not be able to be served. The coaches Corner is an example of that concept.

In short, create an environment that hinders street life in the downtown. If it ain't easy, they will not be there.

I thought PG had foot patrol downtown? Did they discontinue that or is it just there in the Summer when the days are longer and warmer?

They made a big show of announcing foot patrols, but they must be camouflaged because I have yet to see any foot patrols.

We dont need to put the meters back downtown.

What we need to do is to decrease the number of people writing tickets, and then have the balance (say 3 employees) to write tickets in various parts of the City on different days. Staggering their whereabouts on a regular basis, so they they do not set a pattern. In this way you would probably still get the same amount of revenue, but with less people.

Secondly even though a lot of the parking spaces are taken by people who work downtown, the fact of the matter is, these people probably spend more downtown than most. So why penalize them to much.

Thirdly, at any given moment there is a hell of a lot of parking downtown if you would care to walk for a block or two. This idea that you should be able to park in the front of the store you are shopping in is bogus.

People who work in the malls park in the mall parking spaces free of charge the same as shoppers. Why should it be different for people who work or shop downtown.

If we are concerned about revenue, then why are we still proping up the CN Centre to the tune of $600,000.00 per year, of which at least $300,000.00 per year is a direct cost of having the Cougers in the building. Do the Cougers, and others who use the CN Centre get charged for parking??? I doubt it. Maybe if we charged for parking at the CN Centre it would off set the losses from downtown parking.

There are a lot of ways to reduce costs for the City not the least of which is to lay off some high paid staff, and get all departments to tighten their belts.

To put these meters back is bogus. People like it the way it is, so leave it alone.

Why do employees of the City, and Initiatives Prince George and other Government employees get free parking, but the taxpayers who pay the salaries, and benefits for these dudes have to pay for parking.

After all we paid for the streets and sidewalks, and then they want us to pay for using them. In addition they want us to pay for employees to drive around, and issue us tickets for using the very facilities that we paid to build. Think about this for a moment and you will see just how stupid it is.

Yes Palopu but people who THINK they are smart do not see stupid.

stupid is as stupid does

City Council is "Dumb and Dumber" That's pretty obvious!

And as Loki says, I have to refer to the best quotation ever, "you can't fix STUPID", right Danny Boy!!

City Council should only agree to put the parking meters back if they also agree to put parking meters into the staff parking lots at City Hall.

Why should the bureaucrats get free parking and the downtown shoppers and workers have to pay? No other downtown workers get free parking!

The city workers pay taxes too, so the streets and sidewalks belong to them as well. But, they should have to pay for parking like anyone else. That sort of thing might encourage more people to use the bus (and there is another subsidized service that is underutilized)
metalman.

How about we put the meters back unless there is a 'no' vote by 50% of the people who park downtown, representing 50% of the gross value of the vehicles downtown, with the people who shop downtown getting an extra 7.2% weight over those who work there...

Well said Loki, well said. As for parking a block or two away. I feel safer walking that distance in Vancouver rather then here. It's not as bad as E. Hastings but when you have a crowd of 10 following you that are drunk, you tend to get nervous especially when you have kids with you. I've been downtown once this month and that was with my husband to go to B&B music. If they left and the Government buildings left, then I'm sure I wouldn't be downtown.

I think there should be a long drawn out study on the issue.

acrider.. We should probably fly in some city parking planners from New York city. They can stay here for the Summer at $833/hour, but only if they fly in on a 747 that we can fill up for free!