The normally crowded 200-block parking lot in downtown Penticton was remarkably empty Wednesday, two days after the city introduced pay parking. The city this week followed through
on its plans to install parking ticket dispensers in the parking lots behind the 200 and 500 blocks of Main Street. Rates are $1 an hour, identical to the rate charged in the 300 and 400 blocks and street parking meters. Doug Guerard, owner of Guerard‘s Furniture immediately north of the 200-block lot, said the move to pay parking could reverse a trend which has seen an increasing number of downtown shoppers utilize the lot in recent years. Guerard said the reaction from his own customers was immediate. “We‘ve had a lot of upset people as soon as they saw those spitters,” he said. “People started coming in and complaining: ÔWe‘re not coming downtown anymore. We refuse to pay for these things.‘” Guerard wonders how the city can have a goal of promoting downtown, while discouraging shoppers with more pay parking. “Downtown has a hard time competing with the malls and competing with Kelowna shoppers and I think it‘s just vital to have that two-hour parking grace Ð as long as it‘s respected.”Guerard said he noticed very few of the stalls used by downtown workers, noting there are several rental stalls available for monthly parking. “From what we could see, it was 90 per cent customer use, going through the parkade onto Main Street,” he said. The ticket dispensers were installed at the two downtown lots more than a week ago, but didn‘t become operational until this Monday. The machine in the 200-block is already been designated as out of order. Many motorists opted Wednesday to drive past the new ticket dispenser and park in free parking areas on the street. Mike Harrison bemoaned the pay parking expansion. “I have a pet peeve -- I hate paying for parking,” he said. “Why would I pay here if I can get free parking just down the street?” Harrison recently moved to Penticton from Vancouver‘s Kerrisdale district. He said merchants in that area have pooled together to finance a covered parkade to ensure accessible parking is available for customers of the elite shops and bistros. No free parking, he said, will make it tougher for downtown merchants to draw business. Bethany Sutton agreed, as she noticed the ticket dispenser for the first time. “What if you just want to run in to the bookstore or the post office?” she asked. “I think it‘ll definitely put a damper on downtown business.”
Leisurely downtown browsing and dining won‘t be the same, she said, if people are concerned about running back to their car to plug a meter. City council decided in October to rent the ticket dispensers with an option to purchase the machines at the end of the three-year lease. Annual rent and operating expenses are expected to total more than $27,000 leaving the city about $17,000 a year in revenue. Coun. John Vassilaki defended the new meters Wednesday, although he repeated his earlier opposition to the leasing arrangement. He said the parking revenues could eventually be earmarked for a downtown parkade, although the money currently goes directly into the city‘s general revenue account. Vassilaki refuted suggestions pay parking is chasing shoppers away from downtown. “Downtown is more of a destination place rather than a mall,” he said. “Downtown is a little bit different.” Vassilaki said pay parking helps keep the vehicles of downtown workers off the street. He also claimed prices at shopping malls are generally 25 to 30 per cent than downtown locations due to the higher overhead at mall stores.
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