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The number of lots that are not lit properly, drained, landscaped and kept clean is one of the reasons Downtown looks and feels subpar.

We must find more ways to deal with that issue, along with accelerating development on those lots that make sense (locationally/strategically) next.
 
I thought this was pretty cool - it was on the Life-Sized City broadcast on YouTube about urban stadiums.
This is from Antwerp Belgium - their soccer stadium parking lot, like a lot of stadium parking lots in particular, is empty most of the time so they, without much cost, painted some lines including a basketball court that people can use outside of stadium events. I like that they also incorporated some planters and trees within, too.

Screenshot_20221102-202411_YouTube.jpg
 
The number one (or two) issue for people not heading to an area is paid parking and so we want to spend all this money for Downtown/Whyte/etc. vibrancy and then decide we should increase parking rates, with longer hours and include Sunday?

Counterintuitive (and productive) to say the least.
 
IanO said:
The number one (or two) issue for people not heading to an area is paid parking and so we want to spend all this money for Downtown/Whyte/etc. vibrancy and then decide we should increase parking rates, with longer hours and include Sunday?

Counterintuitive (and productive) to say the least.
Click to expand...
I'm all for the elimination of parking/cars in vibrant urban areas. Downtown on a Sunday is, unfortunately, not one... Make it as easy as possible for people to come downtown, whether by bus, train, bike or even car, and consider eliminating when we get some life back into the city!
 
interesting - misguided? - approach to supporting downtown businesses and recovery in my books...

i wonder how much consultation was done with those downtown businesses on this vs increasing taxes and administration costs for a "night mayor" (does this initiative even pay for that one)?

maybe the night mayor's first task could be to eliminate this?

the frustrating part is that all of these extra costs that the city imposes for things like parking aren't included in their calculation of how much they're proposing to increase taxes (ie. this is on top of the 3.9% for four years - a cumulative 16.5%!). :(
 
I’m all for less cars, paid parking etc.

But we need both Valley Lines open first before we make big changes DT. And we need a lot more congestion, full parking lots for this to make sense.

Sundays especially…why should 1 or 2 cars have to pay to park if the whole block is already empty?

Use paid parking to adjust supply/demand when demand outdoes supply. (And reduce supply with parks, development, road diets, etc).

I’d rather see 1 monthly parking pass for all homes to park on residential streets 24/7. And any additional monthly passes have a cost. $20-30/month maybe? Too many homes use garages as additional rooms and park 2-3 vehicles on the road. (And this eventually moving to all monthly parking passes costing money in denser areas with more street parking demand).
 
^Agreed. It comes on the heals of the pandemic closure effects on Downtown and too soon with the Valley Line not yet being completed.
 
The little cost benefit in introducing Sunday paid parking shows it's a bad idea at this point. There is definitely upward momentum and I'm excited to see all the businesses moving in but this is way too early and will be a detriment to that momentum.
 
What do you think it was that didn't work in this area?

I didn't use it and the photos I saw seemed a bit, uh, makeshift, but I worry now that they're going back to what it was, cyclists will be put at risk -- unless the single file actually works along that stretch?

Edit to add a bit more thought: I accept complaints from residents that parking became an issue. However, I think going forward if the city really expect cyclists of all abilities to coexist with drivers on that stretch without protected lanes, they are going to have to put in some serious traffic calming to prevent speeding. Otherwise it will just return to drivers using the road as a shortcut, no matter what the city sets as a speed limit.
 
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