Solving Vernon’s parking problem

By Scott NeufeldTuesday, September 26, 2006 Vernon Daily Courier
Free downtown parking on Saturdays may be coming in the future to improve access to the city’s core following a meeting between the Downtown Vernon Association and the City of Vernon.Downtown executive director Earl Hansen said he’s confident that the city and the DVA will find solutions to ease the parking predicament in the city’s core. He said that parking is one of the most important issues for member businesses.“Our intention in this meeting with the city is to reemphasize this is something that happens every day,” he said. “Businesses and citizens have to deal with a parking system that doesn’t have all the pieces in place.”The DVA has discussed with the city the possibility of opening more parkades in the area and expanding free parking. While no firm commitments were made, Hansen said he is submitting a list of ideas to help improve the downtown core.“The issue of free Saturday parking was one of the things that was brought up,” he said. Hansen said the issue of parking is complex, affecting shoppers and merchants who both compete for spaces. With the loss of the Tolko parking lot he said more parkades may need to be built to offset the loss of that parking.While the city is looking at expanding parking at the Coldstream Hotel lot, Hansen said that a more forward-looking plan is needed to make sure the city has enough parking for the future.“There are some concerns that we haven’t done enough to make it as accessible as we can,” he said. “We do believe we need to look at things beyond (the Coldstream lot).”Better parking will make it easier for people to get to shop downtown, Hansen said. With improved access he said the downtown businesses and customers will benefit.“This will make the downtown more attractive, more appealing, easier for people to use,” he said.Harris Flowers owner Deb Leroux said she’s concerned about how the tight parking situation affects merchants. Her space in the back alley is occasionally blocked and she has received several tickets over the last year after being forced to park on the street all day.Leroux recommended the DVA institute a merchant pass that owners could use in an emergency if their space is blocked.Since most downtown stores are small businesses competing with larger stores in the north end where the parking is free, the meters do drive away some business, Leroux said. She said meters should be changed to allow people to shop longer if they choose.“I always found it ridiculous that shoppers were punished for staying in downtown longer,” she said.Nola Neilson the DVA vice-president, who also owns Creatabls Clothing, said that some of her customers do complain that they have a hard time finding a space downtown.“Shoppers are always trying to find ways to overcome that,” she said. “We just need to have more space for public parking.”Neilson said that scarcity of spaces is common in the core of any city.“As much as we need to move forward and find a solution we will always have a parking issue downtown,” she said.