The City of Kamloops wants your input as it continues to work on a new Parking Management Plan which will focus on parking management strategies in both the short and long-term.

There are two strategies being developed. One for downtown and one for the north shore. The city says the documents as currently proposed are based on data collection, technical analysis, best practices in the industry, and through feedback from the first round of engagement hosted last Spring.

The city is currently in phase four of the five phase process.

North Shore 

North Shore Business Improvement Association Executive Director Jeremy Heighton notes that there are 214 parking stalls along the Tranquille corridor spaced over four kilometres. He says one of the things he is surveying the business community on is whether it would be in support of paid parking on the Tranquille Corridor saying that the BIA is on the fence about that idea.

“The Parking Management approach is generally an acceptable approach. Paint parking lines, identify accessibility stall locations, those types of things. The golden question that seems to get the most attention is whether or not there is a mandate to move forward on parking metres.”

“The question that comes to play is are you in favour of parking metres if; CSO officers were on the corridor Monday thru Saturday from 8:00-6:00, if there is greater client churn in front of your business, if beautification funding can be supplied by those metres as we deal with the planters and the benches and the garbage bins and all that other stuff,” said Heighton. “Other questions include whether parking spots can be more efficiently used and what any surplus funds could be used for.”

He adds there has been a beautification plan for Tranquille that’s 11 years old and no work on it has been done. “It has been endorsed by three different council, but like this strategy it came with no money attached to it. So council in 2011 said let’s beautify the Tranquille corridor. Look at these pretty sexy drawings. Wow isn’t the wrapping really pretty? But suddenly what happens is you dig into the box at budget time and there’s no money. Nothing happens. And so this is part of the challenge that we run into when we start to do these projects is, is there money attached. Do we understand the costs of this to taxpayers and or the business community and is that part of the consideration for these plans moving forward.”

Downtown

Kamloops Central BIA Executive Director Howie Reimer says when it comes to the downtown it is all about the long term planning and trying to find out how to better utilize spaces. He says it is estimated that there are some 1,500 empty parking spaces in the downtown at any given time.

The main things that the business community is concerned about is the ability to park as close as possible and as cheap as possible. Reimer says it’s a concern because customers are more likely to shop at a business if they can park nearby and he says parking is also an issue for employee retention. Forcing workers to pay for a parking spot is a real deterrent and making them park blocks away from work doesn’t do anyone any favours.

“Will they be right outside the business? Will they be on street? Not necessarily. So we want to make sure those employees if they do have to park off street, if they do have to park in the parkades, which apparently are not full, that they feel safe and that they are safe. So that’s certainly one of the big considerations.”

When looking long term, Reimer says the engineering firm putting the information together has concluded that parking demand in the downtown will not exceed supply for the next 20 years. “But things will get tighter and tighter and tighter.”

How to provide feedback

There were two public consultation sessions held online this week. One each for the downtown and the north shore. Those who were unable to attend can still provide feedback by taking the online surveys or by calling 250 828-3409 to arrange for a paper copy. The surveys are open until March 28.

The city says parking issues and mitigation strategies are being developed based on data collection in the Downtown and the Tranquille Business Corridor, technical analysis, best practices in the industry, and through feedback from the first round of engagement hosted last Spring.