Brewery District | ?m | ?s | DIALOG

What do you think of this project?


  • Total voters
    13
Chicken and the egg though... until there is critical mass, do everything you can do (within reason) to accelerate things to that point.

Don't rob Peter to pay Paul.
Retail follows people. But to your comment, yes, we (the city and private owners) need to create the amenities to attract people. Not sure what your robbing Peter comment is all about tho?!?
 
You want to encourage people to live, rent, own, visit, play, eat, shop Downtown by investing millions to attract them and then increase parking rates, expand hours and remove free parking on Sundays.

Downtown Edmonton is in a far, FAR too precarious of a position to send that message to many of 'please don't actually come here'.

We know that parking is the #1 or 2 reasons (safety) why people do not head Downtown right now and while destination food and events (Oilers, Cultural) are helpful, they simply will not contribute to the needed dramatic change we want to see.

Remove barriers, hurdles, negative perceptions in every, single, way that you can.

Some might not see it as a meaningful impact, but it's death by a thousand cuts.
 
^^^^ When the winter-ice would build up on my car's undercarriage behind the wheels (you know what I am talking about) I would often drive downtown to the heated underground library parkade, read a book in the library for a couple of hours, and wait for the ice to melt from my car's underbody -- double duty. Time well spent picking up some new esoteric knowledge on one subject or another while my beautiful copper-colored Cougar got a winter-ice reprieve. I am sharing this for those who love their cars -- it is a reason to go downtown 😉
 
Try living downtown and inviting someone over... if they can't park for free, they'll never want to come visit.
 
You want to encourage people to live, rent, own, visit, play, eat, shop Downtown by investing millions to attract them and then increase parking rates, expand hours and remove free parking on Sundays.

Downtown Edmonton is in a far, FAR too precarious of a position to send that message to many of 'please don't actually come here'.

We know that parking is the #1 or 2 reasons (safety) why people do not head Downtown right now and while destination food and events (Oilers, Cultural) are helpful, they simply will not contribute to the needed dramatic change we want to see.

Remove barriers, hurdles, negative perceptions in every, single, way that you can.

Some might not see it as a meaningful impact, but it's death by a thousand cuts.
These types of demands have come from some people in the business community for decades and are, incidentally, not that dissimilar from the objections to bike lanes, road diets or anything that might impact drivers in any way.

I enjoy free parking as much as anyone and used it downtown during the pandemic, but I am under no illusion that I am entitled to free parking. Trying to make downtown into a parking paradise will only lead us to what we've already got -- an ugly, pedestrian hostile environment that is criminally underutilized.

The good news is that as the population grows downtown, there will be a larger constituency of people that will not put up with some of the boneheaded decisions that have been made historically in this part of the city.
 
These types of demands have come from some people in the business community for decades and are, incidentally, not that dissimilar from the objections to bike lanes, road diets or anything that might impact drivers in any way.

I enjoy free parking as much as anyone and used it downtown during the pandemic, but I am under no illusion that I am entitled to free parking. Trying to make downtown into a parking paradise will only lead us to what we've already got -- an ugly, pedestrian hostile environment that is criminally underutilized.

The good news is that as the population grows downtown, there will be a larger constituency of people that will not put up with some of the boneheaded decisions that have been made historically in this part of the city.
I don't know from what planet some of these comments come from? "Parking paradise"? Really?

We aren't talking about adding one single parking spot, just not charging for the already mostly empty spots on evenings and weekends, which the city is probably not making much from anyways (after the cost of patrolling is factored in).

Downtown businesses have been decimated by COVID and the bonehead decision to extend the paid parking hours downtown will likely help kill off at least a few more that are still hanging on. Anything thing that can attract a few more people downtown (or not discourage them from coming) is a good thing.
 
These types of demands have come from some people in the business community for decades and are, incidentally, not that dissimilar from the objections to bike lanes, road diets or anything that might impact drivers in any way.

I enjoy free parking as much as anyone and used it downtown during the pandemic, but I am under no illusion that I am entitled to free parking. Trying to make downtown into a parking paradise will only lead us to what we've already got -- an ugly, pedestrian hostile environment that is criminally underutilized.

The good news is that as the population grows downtown, there will be a larger constituency of people that will not put up with some of the boneheaded decisions that have been made historically in this part of the city.
It's not about 'free' parking, but rather making Downtown more attractive to come to, not less... and so after 6pm and Sundays was a decent balance... I'd argue for Sat mornings until noon as well to draw shoppers and other goers.

9-5 or 6 during the week, sure, event nights ok, but let's make people WANT to come on a regular basis, provide amazing signage to make it easy to park at a low cost (if any) and reap the benefits until such a time where the elasticity of demand warrants increases.

Right now that is the FURTHEST thing from the truth and a relatively little increase in revenue versus a serious increase in F U Downtown for most citizens.
 
^^ Agree.

The truth is that the previous compromise of of free parking after 6 and on Sundays was a decent balance for both the city and the businesses operating downtown. I want to see downtown thrive and have people be there at all times of the day and night, but the hard truth is downtown is a ghost town these days and the majority of businesses there are struggling big time. The city needs to do all it can to try and attract people to come, especially on non-event nights. This just feels like it'll give suburbanites another excuse to not come downtown.

I work in the core and the amount of times my coworkers bitch about parking and use that as an excuse to not spend time after work or come on the weekends is nauseating. This will just exasperate the issue and ensure downtown continues to struggle.
 
Doesn't have to be either/or for City Parking. What works well in Ventura and many other California jurisdictions is a 1-hour free parking with the following time after the first hour charged at super rates, upped every 15 minutes. It encourages short visits while punishing those who want to linger longer than 1 hour. Retailers love it because it encourages a shopper-enabled turnover. Meters require a debit/credit card reader input to begin the parking time -- a laser terminates the parking event when the car is moved out of the stall. So if you shop for less than an hour your parking is free; if you stay for say 2 hours then you might be charged $12.00; if you stay for 3 hours you pay $24.00... 4 hours = $36.00; 5 hours = $60.00 and so on. The added advantage is that their need be no real-time City-employee monitoring.
 
The reality is that even with free parking, people won't come downtown, until it is perceived as "safe".

When it is "safe" people will gladly pay an arm and a leg for parking.

The issue is safety, not cost.
 
The reality is that even with free parking, people won't come downtown, until it is perceived as "safe".

When it is "safe" people will gladly pay an arm and a leg for parking.

The issue is safety, not cost.
You're not wrong, but the perception of safety also comes from the perception of liveliness.

DT Vancouver has just as much (if not more) crime and drug abuse related issues as we do, as well as a hell of a lot more houseless and/or intoxicated people, but people notice it less because there are more people around and they end up "disappearing" in the background.

The one thing I can see, comparing these two cities, for example, we can and should do, regards the LRT (trains and stations alike). Frankly, why a city the size of Edmonton that simply REFUSES to have fare gates and turnstiles is beyond my comprehension.

But as for the parking, I can't say I disagree that having paid parking, especially after 6pm and/or on weekends haven't landed me with some displeased comments from friends that came to visit. I also can't see the businesses liking it, so as much as it pains me to say so, I do agree that we should explore some sort of compromise on street parking costs downtown.
 
Doesn't have to be either/or for City Parking. What works well in Ventura and many other California jurisdictions is a 1-hour free parking with the following time after the first hour charged at super rates, upped every 15 minutes. It encourages short visits while punishing those who want to linger longer than 1 hour. Retailers love it because it encourages a shopper-enabled turnover. Meters require a debit/credit card reader input to begin the parking time -- a laser terminates the parking event when the car is moved out of the stall. So if you shop for less than an hour your parking is free; if you stay for say 2 hours then you might be charged $12.00; if you stay for 3 hours you pay $24.00... 4 hours = $36.00; 5 hours = $60.00 and so on. The added advantage is that their need be no real-time City-employee monitoring.
That is an excellent idea. I've seen places with two hours free, or maybe the best solution here is somewhere in between, but the concept is good.
 

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