Parking report 'nonsense'

Parking report 'nonsense' – DOMB member

Author: Frank Matys

Date: Nov 13, 2009

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Frank Matys

Business owner Michael Knight disagrees with a consultant's report suggesting that Orillia's downtown can cope with the loss of more than 80 parking spots.

ORILLIA: The loss of more than 80 parking spaces to a new library and reconfigured market square will not leave motorists high and dry, according to a highly anticipated study.
The report, which has yet to appear on council’s desk, concludes that “sufficient” parking exists within walking distance of the library to make up for 84 spaces that are set to disappear under a planned redevelopment of the site.
That finding is drawing fire from a long-time merchant and member of Orillia’s downtown management board, who argues the city’s core already suffers from a parking deficit.
“The whole thing is nonsense,” said Michael Knight. “All they are trying to do is justify putting the library there.”
MMM Group in its report says sufficient parking is available at municipal parking lots and on-street spots located within 250 metres of the library.
Private lots in the area could provide additional parking, “however, as they are reserved for business patrons only, arrangements would need to be made with these owners,” the firm says.
Residents surveyed in a 1994 parking study said they were willing to walk no more than 100 feet to a downtown destination, according to Knight.
He predicts the library and neighboring opera house will suffer declining attendance “because of the lack of customer-friendly parking in the area.
“There is not even close to enough,” he added.
The report also suggests library users may be more inclined to use public transit “knowing that finding parking downtown may be difficult.”
Providing bicycle racks “will also encourage cycling as an attractive alternative to the automobile for area residents,” the firm adds.
“This is not Toronto,” said Knight. “This is not a place where we have a high density of people. People still drive their cars to go shopping.”
Coun. Tim Lauer chairs the city’s parking advisory committee and has yet to explore the study in depth.
While acknowledging the report’s conclusion, Lauer said council would decide whether to follow its recommendations.
“We are having some significant parking problems in the downtown right now,” he said. “My inclination is that we are going to have some solving to do.”
He anticipates council will receive the report within the next two weeks, adding that the committee is “acutely aware of the parking situation.”
Lakehead University students are already competing with downtown workers for permit spaces, he noted.
Should the school retain a presence in the core following a move to the permanent campus – and Lauer hopes it does – “we have to find some solutions,” he said.
At least part of the answer may be found in a privately-owned lot next to city hill, currently being leased by the municipality to handle the overflow during renovations of a municipal parking lot.
“We should be looking at it as maybe a long-term solution,” he said.
Developing on-street parking along Colborne, West and Andrew Streets is suggested as another potential solution.
“We could create an awful lot of parking spaces just by doing that,” he said.
While the 250-metre figure cited in the report “may be a trade standard,” local residents are likely to hold a different view of what constitutes an acceptable walking distance, Lauer added.
“Orillians want to park in front of where they are going – period,” he said.