Parking woes not as bad as we may think

The consultants hired on by the City of Prince Rupert to study parking issues in the city brought forward their study Tuesday night at the Lester Centre of the Arts. One of their key findings in the 28,000 dollar study into parking in the city, was that while there may not be an available spot in front of where you want to go, there’s a good chance that there’s one just around the corner.

The Boulevard Transportation Group conducted a four day study of traffic and parking patterns in the city in late May and early June, their main areas of concern were the five corners area, the downtown core and Cow Bay.

For those looking for a parking spot with little trouble First avenue east of the mall and Fourth street offer you the best hope both of those locations are occupied only70-80 percent of their peak times , while frustration is apparently to be found at the Atlin Terminal which is normally at 96 per cent capacity.

They will forward their recommendations to the parking advisory committee, which is tasked to decide which recommendations to pass on to city council.

The Daily news had a complete report on Tuesday’s presentation as part of the Thursday paper.

EXPERTS SHARE PARKING IDEAS AS CITY PLANS THE ROAD AHEAD
Consultants have several solutions but say parking is still available
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Pages one and two

People in Prince Rupert may not think there's enough parking available, but chances are, if they are prepared to drive a block or two they'll find a space.

That was one of the conclusions in the parking study released during a presentation at the Lester Centre of the Arts Tuesday night.

"There is a perception of limited parking as people want to park directly in front of their destination; however there is generally parking around the corner or on another block," reads the study.

Jani Haysom, a transportation planner with the Boulevard Transportation Group, said they were hired by the city through its Parking Advisory Committee to identify parking issues and potential solutions.

“Our job was to come and do an overview look of five corners, downtown and Cow Bay,” she said. “Rushbrook kind of popped up after the fact. Once we arrived here, we were alerted to some issues. And signage has come up as well.”

Boulevard did background research and data collection during four days at the end of May and beginning of June.

“We chose that season because it gives us a sense of how summer trends are coming up, while at the same time still seeing a little bit what is happening during the rest of the year.” said Haysom.
The recommendations will be sent to the parking advisory committee, which will decide which recommendations to pass on to city council.

“These conclusions and recommendations are drafts. They are not written in stone,” she said.
Boulevard representatives said the majority of people interviewed were local business owners, employees and these people considered parking to be vital to their long-term success.

They fear that long-term parkers consume too many spaces and defer potential patrons,” reads the study. “

“Numerous individuals also expressed concern over pay-parking in Prince Rupert and people fee there is an under supply in Cow Bay and the downtown core.”

Patrons also commented that it is business owners and employees who tend to park for long periods of time and reduce patron’s parking opportunities. They also noted people do not want to walk far in poor weather.

Overall, the study found that on street parking is functioning well in the commercial areas with high occupancy and high turnover signifying a strong commercial core.

In fact, most areas were not filled to capacity, or 85 per cent full, during peak times.

Those areas that exceeded 85 per cent occupancy in their peak hours included the Cow Bay Atlin Terminal lot at 96 per cent occupancy, Second Street at 95 per cent and First Street at 91 per cent.

Those areas reaching 70 to 84 per cent occupancy in their peak hours were First Avenue, east of the mall (74 per cent): Third Street 80 per cent, the Cow Bay Road lot, the Fourth Street lot 78 per cent and Rushbrook on the weekends.

“Very few areas reach ‘peak’ occupancy levels of more than 85 per cent, however some are reaching 70 per cent and could reach adequacy levels if demand increases,” reads the study.

In areas, where there are parking restrictions, the study noted long-term parkers such as employees and patrons are taking advantage of opportunities.

It also noted parking enforcement appears to be randomly focused on downtown, but not the outlying areas such as Cow Bay.

For a full list of the drat recommendations, see the sidebar below.

Anyone who wants to comment on the draft, can email Jani Hayson at jhayson@blvdgroup.ca or Dan Casey at dcasy@ blvdgroup.ca

PARKING STUDY SIDEBAR
Preliminary recommendations from the draft parking study conducted by Boulevard Transportation, presented at the Lester Center of the Arts, Tuesday evening.
Boulevard Transportation recommends:

--increasing the supply of public parking in the Cow Bay area in new developments;

--where space permits, converting side streets within the downtown core to one-way streets with angle parking (to allow for more parking opportunities);

-- as part of the plans to push Third Avenue through and connect it with George Hills Way, angle parking should be created;

--improving enforcements in core areas, including hot spots such as Cow Bay using improved technologies such as hand held devices (for bylaw officers)

--implementing consistent time limits within the downtown core- the suggestion calls for one hour on all streets between Sixth Street and McBride, two hours between Sixth and Seventh street and two hours in Cow Bay;

--designating the Atlin Lot as visitor parking between 9 a. m. and 5 p. m. Monday to Friday and implementing pay-parking in that lot, with the first hour free’

--improving driver signage to public parking areas and visitor, information centres;

--creating another public boat launch in Prince Rupert to alleviate some of the pressure at Rushbrook. This could be free to residents with proof of residence;

--improving pedestrian pathways and walkways;

--B. C.’s Local Government Act permits the payment to a municipality of an amount specified in a bylaw, instead of providing the required number of spaces. Monies are put into a reserve fund, used for parking purposes. This does not guarantee the parking will be provided in the immediate proximity unless it is committed in writing by the local government;

--the city needs to reevaluate its existing fee-in-lieu of $2,000 per space – is this reflective of the true value per space;

--Cash in Lieu arrangements when applied properly, could benefit both the city and property owners;

--the city needs to encourage transportation demand management by improving travel alternatives such as bike, transit and pedestrian facilties;

--the city needs to encourage employee parking for large employers such as grocery stores, hotels, banks and the college in underutilized areas;

--the city needs toe develop incentives or disincentives for employees to use alternate forms of travel such as employee shuttle services, bus passes, guaranteed ride home and bike lockers and showers;

--improve signage by changing the signs on George Hills Way to read two-hour parking except with permit; include on signage on where to get permits;

--all signage should be at a 45 degree angle to the curb;

--for businesses, who don not have back alley access, loading zones should be at either end of the block with 15 minute maximum;

-public parking signage should be large and visible