The Blue Agave Forum -> The Mumpsimus Blog

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Free parking extended downtown during construction

Posted by ianadmin , 06 November 2009 - 07:09 AM

I was surprised there was any debate let alone opposition, over the request to provide free parking downtown during the reconstruction of the main street, last Monday. After all, as nice as the revitalization will be when it's finished, the construction is having a massive impact on downtown businesses. No one can drive through the centre block, nor park on it. For the first two weeks, the fencing separated east and west sides of the street, which further dampened sales.

Council should be doing everything it can to relieve the pain we caused. The vote, while not close, was 7-2, with Deputy Mayor Cooper and Councillor McNabb voting against.

People have been staying away from the downtown, unsure if businesses are open or where to park. I've personally spoken to at least a dozen customers in my store who admitted that, since construction began, they'd stopped going downtown. So where are they shopping? Elsewhere - the malls, big box stores, or even going to Wasaga Beach and Barrie. The downtown is hurting.

And of course there's the recession. Despite governmental claims that it's over, it can still be felt here. I haven't found a single Collingwood business person who says sales have recovered to previous years' levels.

There is a...

Parking cost increases proposed

Posted by ianadmin , 19 September 2009 - 08:04 AM

Our parking committee has made several suggestions that will both affect the downtown and future development throughout the town, and I think many are bad for Collingwood.

On page 136 of Monday's agenda, the committee laid out nine recommendations for council to consider (and which council approved putting into a new draft bylaw for consideration):

Monthly Parking Pass - Maintain the current fee of the monthly pass of $42.00 and review it in the spring of 2010 to determine if an increase of 10% is viable.
Parking at the Library - Committee agreed to defer the decision to Council.
Parking at the Shipyards - Implementation of Pay & Display meters for the Shipyards at the same rate as the other Pay and Display meters.
Parking Lot Acquisition / Partnership - Direct staff investigate a reciprocal use agreement with the current owner. The Committee does not support the acquisition of the property at this time.
Robinson’s Parking Lot - Direct staff to meet with the property owners to discuss possible acquisition for future expansion of the Arena Parking Lot.
Reinstate On-Street Paid Parking - Reinstate the paid parking on Hurontario Street and side streets, and increase the rates to 1.00 dollar per hour on Hurontario Street and to .75 cents per hour...