Actual absolute shortage of parking in the Marine/Willingdon avenues corridor is not the main problem, according to a study by City of Powell River staff. Rather, there are a number of contributing factors to the parking difficulties in the area, including lack of proper signage and under-use of existing parking in rear lots.
Carlos Felip, director of planning services, presented a parking analysis, including proposals, at the August 29 committee-of-the-whole meeting. In working on the study, staff discovered there are a number of improvements that could be made, Felip said, but before approving any proposed action, the city should consult with MABA (Marine Area Business Association) and Powell River Chamber of Commerce. “Then we’ll come back to you hopefully with something that everybody agrees with,” Felip said.
In early 2013, staff undertook a parking inventory. They divided Marine Avenue at Burton Street and looked at how many parking spaces were required north and south of it. They counted all the existing parking spaces and discovered that there are more than the required number south of Burton, but 106 fewer north of Burton.
The review also uncovered a number of contributing factors to the parking difficulties in the area. “Among the ones that appear most relevant are the lack of proper signage to identify parking area location and accesses, lack of signage for time limits where applicable and, perhaps the most important, significant under-utilization of existing parking at the rear of lots, mostly in the north of Burton section,” according to Felip’s report.
Staff also analyzed the city’s zoning bylaw, asking if the number of parking stalls it required was logical, Felip said. For this area of the city, he added, the city should establish some kind of proportion of parking, trying to calculate how much parking is needed at the peak hour for any of the different uses, such as a doctor’s office, a restaurant and residences. “Since this is a mixed-use area, I’m sure that we have more than enough parking,” Felip said.
Staff also realized that a lot of the parking is in areas that are not accessible. “Stairs from the sidewalk to the rear of a building are not in good condition, there are no lights, they’re steep or there are no signs,” Felip explained.
The study contains a number of recommendations, such as reducing the overall parking requirement for the area by 50 per cent and using a 25-per-cent rule for changes in use or additions to buildings. Another recommendation is to reduce the total number of parking stalls required in a development by one if end-of-trip facilities are installed. An end-of-trip facility is defined as cycling infrastructure that includes secure, long-term bicycle parking such as lockers, rooms or racks for three or more bicycles.
The report also touches on the MABA proposal to establish a Town Clock and greenspace in the vacant lot on the southeast corner of Marine and Alberni Street. Staff previously proposed having the clock and a landscaped parking lot on the corner with 11 parking stalls. The recommendation is to include the staff proposal in budget discussions.
Another recommendation is to redesign the informal parking lot at the south end of the old arena site to maximize its use as a parking lot and include the redevelopment in budget discussions.
Additionally, the report recommends establishing a task force with MABA and the chamber to look at existing accessibility, signage and lighting deficiencies to increase the use of available parking.
Another recommendation is to designate a two-hour time limit in all city-owned or controlled parking north of Burton, except the parking lot adjacent to the old arena site. Staff would be instructed to consider the necessary steps to increase parking enforcement in the area.
The report doesn’t support some ideas that have been suggested in the past, such as turning Willingdon into a one-way street to create additional on-street parking.
The study has been sent to MABA and the chamber for feedback and staff will report the comments to council.
