No matter where you go, parking seems to be a hot button issue.
There isn’t enough of it, it isn’t convenient, it’s too expensive and the list goes on.
This week parking came up a couple times: once in the presentation of the city’s finalized Sustainable Downtown and Waterfront Master Plan, and again when councillor Margaret Stacey questioned the need for seniors parking permits.
During the presentation at Monday’s council meeting by city manager Kevin Cormack, he mentioned that the parking lot across from Best Western might be better used for development.
Development is a great thing and necessary for a booming downtown neighbourhood, but so is parking.
No matter how we improve transit, boost parking fees, or encourage alternate transportation methods, people are still going to opt for the convenience of driving. Many of us are guilty of this.
We can’t convert all the parking lots to development opportunities, but we may give up on some development opportunities because we need parking.
There are spots around the city where parking lots could be built.
Now that the Regional District of Central Kootenay has found a new home for the transfer station, maybe we could put some parking where the dump is currently located.
Or perhaps people could be encouraged to park in the railtown area, which might end up encouraging new business to move in that direction.
The one thing both these suggestions imply is that maybe we might have to be okay with parking a little further away from our intended destination instead of circling the block over and over in hopes of the perfect parking spot.