City circling the parking stalls

By Alli Vail
July 3^rd, 2008

Parking is a problem at the Parksville Community and Conference Centre - and more asphalt and parking meters are among the suggestions to fix the issue.

Duane Round and Peter Hann, on behalf to the Parksville Community Centre Society, appeared before Parksville council recently with a list of recommendations to manage the parking lot overload.

"Some things can be done very easily,"Round said. "Some are fairly major changes. There are probably some technical issues."

The recommendations came from a report done a year ago. Council asked the PCCC Society to come up with some ideas.

"They certainly have some concern,"said Parksville Mayor Sandy Herle. "It's a challenge for all of us when the facility is so successful."

There were 11 recommendations in all, among them paving over the grass area behind the centre to provide parking for PCCC staff. They also suggested the city create a one-way lane behind the centre to add approximately 20 extra spaces. The other major suggestion is to install parking ticket meters.

The parking lot at the PCCC services the school district, library users, centre staff, the city, Community Policing, Vancouver Island University and Bravenet.

Round said on a normal day, there is enough parking. He said parking becomes an issue during big events or if the user groups are having events at the same time.

"It's not a huge problem but there are days when the parking lot is completely full,"Round said.

There isn't enough parking in the immediate area to service a full PCCC, he said, which can hold 550 people.

Round said he did a physical count of parking spaces between Jensen and Stanford Avenue and Alberni Highway to Corfield Street.

He said there were 156 parking spaces, 98 of which were regular parking, 47 for staff, nine for people with disabilities and two for ten minutes stops, used by couriers.

Not all the recommendations will require construction. Round said the centre is planning to list available parking, like a city pay lot on McCarter Street on its website.

A recommendation the city publish a list of parking sites was also in the report.

At a committee of the whole meeting, council recommended staff work with the PCCC to see what could be done in the short and the long term.

"Parking within the city can be identified on the website,"Herle said.

Some of the other recommendations will be more difficult to deal with.

Herle said having a pay for parking lot is an idea that won't be discounted.

"Meters ... don't know,"Herle said.

She also said the green area behind the PCCC is sort of a park area.

"I think that's going to be a challenge,"Herle said, adding perhaps creating a one way behind the PCCC is an option to be looked at.

Extending Craig Street's one way designation was also recommended.

"You'd be discussing that with merchants that would be affected,"Herle said. "That's just another suggestion."

There will be more discussion on the matter at an upcoming council meeting.




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