The long discussed issue of downtown parking will be sent to a study session from a Victoria based Transportation group.
Boulevard Transportation Group was awarded a contract to conduct an investigation into the many parking issues that have cropped up around the city.
Surveys will begin in the second or third week of May in a wide swath of the city, from Five Corners through to Cow Bay and Atlin Terminal and of course the downtown area.
The survey process is going to be costlier than the city first thought, at 28,500 dollars, the cost of examining parking in the city is coming in about 13,000 dollars more than the original budget of 15,000 dollars called for. Perhaps the prospect of pay parking in the future for the city will help to offset the cost over run on the survey process.
The Daily News had a synopsis of the decision of council to hire the Victoria group and what they hope to discover during their study period.
FIRM SET TO DRIVE PARKING STUDY
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Page one
City council approved $28,500 Monday night to hire the Boulevard Transportation Group of Victoria to study parking in the downtown and Cow Bay areas.
The parking committee task force, represented by Gina Garon, said it had reviewed seven proposals from different companies and had chose Boulevard to provide an independent review of the parking situation.
“Seven proposals were received and reviewed with consideration given to demonstrated ability, expertise, research methodology, price and quality of submission,” said Garon, speaking to council Monday night.
“Upon review of the seven proposals the task force recommended the award to Boulevard Transportation Group.”
Boulevard has done studies for the Town of Sydney, City of Langford, City of North Vancouver, Ladysmith and Victoria.
“Our projects have involved identifying best practices in other communities, including further investigation into parking fee structures, enforcement and management that makes efficient use of the resource,” wrote Michael Skene of the Boulevard Transportation Group.
The final report is expected in mid August.
The study will include reviewing the study area and data collection through parking surveys in Cow Bay, the downtown core, Five Corners and other areas.
This is expected to happen during the second and third week in May, when the tourism season is underway and will take place on both weekdays and weekends.
They will also hold on-street interviews with members of the public and business owners to collect anecdotes on parking in the city during the second week in may and hold an open house.
The report will present ways to improve the use of underutilized parking areas, how to incorporate new parking into new developments, parking zone requirements for handicap and loading zones, employee parking during the high tourist season in areas like Cow Bay, pay parking technologies and recommended time limits and zone changes.
The cost of the park study is about $13,000 above the $15,000 budget council had originally suggested when they first tried to put together the parking task force almost two years ago, during the summer of 2005.
Coun. Joy Thorkelson also asked if the input gathered from the Official Community Plan will be included in the report or if the two studies were proceeding independently.
“We don’t know what the downtown is going to look like in the Official Community Plan and if you design parking for the way downtown is now, or if you design parking for the way downtown is in the future, it might be different. Does this dovetail with the Official Community Plan?” asked Coun. Joy Thorkelson.
City administrator Gord Howie said the draft report of the Official Community Plan will be presented to council at a meeting at the beginning of May with some open houses planned for mid-May.
“I think the two things will mesh together fairly well as neither one will be cast in stone,” said Howie.
Boulevard Transportation Group was awarded a contract to conduct an investigation into the many parking issues that have cropped up around the city.
Surveys will begin in the second or third week of May in a wide swath of the city, from Five Corners through to Cow Bay and Atlin Terminal and of course the downtown area.
The survey process is going to be costlier than the city first thought, at 28,500 dollars, the cost of examining parking in the city is coming in about 13,000 dollars more than the original budget of 15,000 dollars called for. Perhaps the prospect of pay parking in the future for the city will help to offset the cost over run on the survey process.
The Daily News had a synopsis of the decision of council to hire the Victoria group and what they hope to discover during their study period.
FIRM SET TO DRIVE PARKING STUDY
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Page one
City council approved $28,500 Monday night to hire the Boulevard Transportation Group of Victoria to study parking in the downtown and Cow Bay areas.
The parking committee task force, represented by Gina Garon, said it had reviewed seven proposals from different companies and had chose Boulevard to provide an independent review of the parking situation.
“Seven proposals were received and reviewed with consideration given to demonstrated ability, expertise, research methodology, price and quality of submission,” said Garon, speaking to council Monday night.
“Upon review of the seven proposals the task force recommended the award to Boulevard Transportation Group.”
Boulevard has done studies for the Town of Sydney, City of Langford, City of North Vancouver, Ladysmith and Victoria.
“Our projects have involved identifying best practices in other communities, including further investigation into parking fee structures, enforcement and management that makes efficient use of the resource,” wrote Michael Skene of the Boulevard Transportation Group.
The final report is expected in mid August.
The study will include reviewing the study area and data collection through parking surveys in Cow Bay, the downtown core, Five Corners and other areas.
This is expected to happen during the second and third week in May, when the tourism season is underway and will take place on both weekdays and weekends.
They will also hold on-street interviews with members of the public and business owners to collect anecdotes on parking in the city during the second week in may and hold an open house.
The report will present ways to improve the use of underutilized parking areas, how to incorporate new parking into new developments, parking zone requirements for handicap and loading zones, employee parking during the high tourist season in areas like Cow Bay, pay parking technologies and recommended time limits and zone changes.
The cost of the park study is about $13,000 above the $15,000 budget council had originally suggested when they first tried to put together the parking task force almost two years ago, during the summer of 2005.
Coun. Joy Thorkelson also asked if the input gathered from the Official Community Plan will be included in the report or if the two studies were proceeding independently.
“We don’t know what the downtown is going to look like in the Official Community Plan and if you design parking for the way downtown is now, or if you design parking for the way downtown is in the future, it might be different. Does this dovetail with the Official Community Plan?” asked Coun. Joy Thorkelson.
City administrator Gord Howie said the draft report of the Official Community Plan will be presented to council at a meeting at the beginning of May with some open houses planned for mid-May.
“I think the two things will mesh together fairly well as neither one will be cast in stone,” said Howie.
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