Councillors request report on parking problems in Picton
Administrator | Jun 28, 2018 | Comments 17
Council is requesting municipal staff provide a report on parking issues.
Councillor Gord Fox made the request at Thursday’s Committee of Whole meeting, following several conversations with citizens and business owners.
He noted several business owners do not have parking behind their stores and wondered if a monthly parking fee schedule could help them, as well as those with mobility concerns and those who require parking in the winter.
“I’ve also had chats with Andy Harrison (bylaw officer) and he agrees in principle and right now is in the process of collecting data because there’s more concerns than just this when it comes to parking. We talked about monthly parking… and parking in the wintertime if the streets aren’t cleaned, or snow is thrown up against the meters making it especially difficult for those with mobility issues.”
Councillors want Harrison’s collected data to be included in the report.
Councillor David Harrison hopes there will also be information included to help visitors to homes find parking in the winter.
“There is no where in Picton for somebody who comes to visit somebody, to park, without being in violation of a bylaw,” he said. “I’ve spoken to Andy Harrison as well… I think the route we’ve taken with the parking on the Main Street is basically going to kill the downtown and I’m getting quite a lot of comments on that. People don’t like the new meters, etc. etc. Parking definately needs to be addressed on more than one front.”
Councillor Janice Maynard noted anybody with mobility issues, with the required sticker, do not have to use the meters.
Councillor Bill Roberts requested the report also include input from the Regent Theatre for information about needs of an older, less mobile, demographic attending three-hour shows.
Councillor Steve Ferguson would like to see strict attention paid to daily violations of parking in clearly marked accessible spots, noting tickets would help discourage the practice.
Filed Under: Local News
Susan there is lots of illegal parking, like parking to close to intersection etc.
I don’t think anyone suggested that The Royal should not be developed – certainly not me. What I basically said was – if you think parking is bad now, wait until The Royal gets going. As far as fixing an old problem – well I think the best we can do now is not to make it any more difficult. For example – why spend money on new meters, when they don’t work as well and are just too inconvenient, – also, making sure that the snow is cleared away, allowing for easy on street parking during the winters and for improved pedestrian traffic, – have improved signage directing drivers to the parking lots, have more shaded areas with seating on Main St.. I know that the BIA doesn’t support a traffic by-pass around downtown, but one is seriously needed to get the heavy through traffic and transport trucks off the downtown roads. If more on street parking can’t be accommodated, then a lot more can be done to improve the pedestrian experience of our downtown and making it a more enjoyable shopping and visiting experience. But allowing good parking spaces to be taken over by businesses and police, just doesn’t make sense for a town where parking spaces are hard to find.
Mike, parking is free in Bloomfield and Wellington so there is no sense in checking on that in a truck.
We now have return tourist that know how parking in the county works. No tickets given on weekends and holidays. This means they can and do park for hours on end on these days.
Hire summer parking police to solve this problem by working weekends, give them a truck to cover Wellington and Bloomfield and develop a circuit to cover all areas.
Whatever possessed Council to decide that parking fees should be charged on Market Square? What was once a bustling parking lot providing free access to downtown businesses has now become a virtual desert during the day which cannot be generating much income.
Time for Council to reconsider their wrong-headed decision and help the poor folk struggling to make a living on Main Street.
With the exception of the new library in Quinte West, I don’t know of any library in this area that has it’s own parking lot. As for the RV/trailer parking. Again, show me a town that has a lot near to it’s downtown core that has this type of parking. Most people that have them usually either buy their supplies beforehand, or they drop their trailers at their site and then go in town.
As for the Royal, they own the parking directly behind it. I remember Len would come outside and threaten to have your car towed if you parked back there and weren’t going to his establishment.
So Dennis as much as we would like you to run for Council as Fred indicated, what is the answer for a 200 year old town that did not foresee this need? Without killing development because believe me we need e ery new water connection we can get.
So since you should but will not run for Council, tell us how parking can be resolved without shutting down such a positive development as the Royal? This situation happens everywhere
The Community Center parking is very practical. That would be a celebration in Toronto! In Picton you seem to think parking should be at the front door. Laughable. Just how does one create more Main St. Parking in a 200 yr old town without such space. Help me out with that.
Convenient and adequate parking is key to the success of our downtown and for the happiness and safety of our citizens. But the number of on-street parking spaces are quite limited and decreasing – look at the area between The Armory and the top of the hill – with at least one reserved spot for the police (why?), the loss of two more spaces in front of The County Canteen and more again due to the new crepe business in front of the Armory that closed off its parking area to create an asphalt seating area. Why these parking areas have been lost for public use is what needs to be looked at. For seniors or for the disabled, being asked to walk a few blocks to find a parking space defeats the purpose of developing a downtown – add to this scenario the problems that winter creates for these same people, due to snow piled up along the road – well like I said earlier – Picton is no longer user friendly for a lot of people. My bank is the CIBC – have you tried parking in their lot behind? You need a tractor to navigate the pot holes to get to it -making it a useless parking area. The handicapped spaces in front of the CIBC are used by many who are not handicapped. As someone earlier pointed put – once the Royal opens, parking problems will hit an all time high. So who is responsible for this kind of planning? Personally, I think being asked to pay for this kind of parking experience is a joke.
The County is a major tourist destination yet — as far as I know — we don’t have a single designated parking spot in Picton, Bloomfield or Wellington where those huge RVs or even a car with a pop-up camper-trailer can park when people need to buy groceries or even just take the kids for an ice-cream cone.
If you pay to park in Picton, common sense says you should have to pay to park in Bloomfield and Wellington. Why council does not act on this is anyone’s guess. Politics I assume.
Susan – not even close to adequate or in the case of the Community Centre even practical. Just think about it.
This is not unique to Picton. It happens everywhere that is experiencing growth. And we do have the King St. parking lot, lots of parking at the Community Center.
Thank parking is bad now? Just wait ’til the Royal Hotel is open.
I know they bought a piece of property to be used to park the cars of those staying at the hotel. Where are the dozens of employees, guests at the restaurant, or the hundreds who might attend events going to park? We’re talking potentially hundreds of cars! This is a disaster in the making. As far as I can recall this has never been discussed by Council. This raises a very important question. If a commercial project does not include adequate parking, why was it allowed to proceed?
I think that it would help if there was more signage directing people to all available off-street parking lots. Also, paper and online maps showing these lots.
Parking in the downtown is a challenge. Far too often, just trying to drop off or pick up a book at the library is next to impossible – plus each time it cost money to do so. I find it appalling that a main library has no parking for its users. In general, I find going downtown and finding parking to be more difficult – at times requiring several trips around the block before a spot opens up – and yes, there have been times when I just said to heck with it and left. In my opinion, Picton is becoming less user friendly – something that both our Council and the Chamber of Commerce needs to start thinking about. Between the lack of parking and increased traffic on Main Street, I imagine that businesses are losing costumers.