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Businesses wary of pay parking changes

Melamed says Whistler welcomes feedback on rates, conditions
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While Whistler has had pay parking along Main Street and in other municipal lots since 2002 the rates have been frozen at $1 per hour since the beginning. That all changed two weeks ago when rates doubled to $2 per hour.

The decision was made at the same April council meeting where the addition of pay parking to the Telus Whistler Conference Centre was approved.

Mayor Ken Melamed acknowledged that the decision was unpopular, especially in the current economic climate, and said that rates probably should have increased incrementally in the past seven years instead of doubling all at once.

"Technically the rates doubled, but technically the parking (rate) has not increased since it was implemented," he said. "As Chris Quinlan pointed out in council it made better sense to increase (property taxes) a little more each year instead of having to raise them the amounts we are now.

"Again, it's easy to look back and hindsight is 20-20, but the fact is that the rates should have gone up gradually over time but didn't. This time around council had to balance off revenues and expenditures, and one of the things that came out of our budget discussion was pay parking revenues."

Pay parking was included in the five-year financial plan as a revenue-earner for the municipality, which is facing budget shortfalls for the immediate future. That includes the day skier lots, where pay parking will be in place in three out of five lots as of June 1, and is expected to raise $2 million per year. The rate will be $8 a day during the winter season, or $2 per hour, and $12 a day during the summer, or $3 per hour.

Melamed said the new rates at municipal lots, which are expected to raise $390,000 this year, are still lower than rates in other urban areas or resorts with pay parking in place.

"Doubling wasn't seen to be out of line or unreasonable - had we done an annual cost of living increase it would have been at the same place or higher," he said.

Melamed said the municipality is aware that some people have issues with the hours pay parking is charged, or the fact that many lots - including the conference centre - limit parking to two hours. He said that government would like to hear recommendations and suggestions to make the program better.

"It's something we will have to monitor and try to be respectful and responsive to the needs of the community," he said. "The message is to let us know what we need to do to make (pay parking) work better for people."

Sandra Smith, of bylaw services, noted that the addition of pay parking to the conference centre was part of a Transportation Advisory Group initiative to get people out of cars and onto public transit. She also noted that free parking was never free.

"I know a lot of people are frustrated that there's no more free parking, but parking has never been free," she said. "There are costs associated with building and maintaining the structure, with snow clearing. The conference centre was always subsidized and now simply we've moved to a more user-pay system."

People parking in the conference centre are getting warnings at this point if they don't purchase tickets, but that will change in June when bylaw officers will start issuing tickets.

Business owners are questioning the timing of the addition of pay parking to the conference centre underground, as well as the decision to double rates.

While Scott Carrell sold his businesses in the village last October, he is opposed to anything that could impact local residents or the village at this time.

"I can tell you that it's the worst possible time to do that - go out, and that's the number one thing you'll hear from people," he said. "Everyone is struggling right now, and will continue to struggle through this Olympic thing, and they've already restricted parking (with construction on the day lots) so much that people don't have a choice but to pay. It will be very tough for village merchants.

"It will be great for Marketplace businesses, that is if they're not forced to put in pay parking because of all the cars in there."

Given the municipality's current financial issues, Carrell says the pay parking changes might be easier for locals to swallow if they could see the RMOW making sacrifices as well.

Dan Ellis, owner and operator of Armchair Books, says locals account for about 75 per cent of his business during the shoulder season, and they are more likely to avoid the village because of higher parking rates.

"I do have concerns if it creates a situation where people are reluctant to come into the village because of the hassle of having to pay," he said. "If people are coming to the village less because of a new obstacle, albeit a minor one, it's not good for any businesses.

"Why do that? We don't need any more obstacles right now, we're already having a hard enough time. We should be making it easier for people and not harder."

Cathy McGeough at Splitz Grill on Main Street doesn't believe it's going to be much of a problem for business, but also questioned the timing. Meanwhile she's already concerned by how pay parking is enforced.

"I can look out my window right now and see a car that's parked there for four or five days that will never get a ticket, then I park for five minutes with a vehicle with a Splitz sign on the side and get a ticket," she said. "If they actually enforced pay parking at $1 then they would have made more money than raising it to $2 an hour, because people still aren't going to pay."

In her area of the village she expects customers will park in the free day lots or in the Marketplace parking lot to avoid paying.

"I do feel really bad for visitors that might not know where to get free parking. If people want to spend a couple of hours shopping and they have to keep running back to put more money in it's going to change the atmosphere of the village. People are going to be looking at their watches every five minutes instead of taking in the scenery."

April Solonyka, the manager at Elements Urban Tapas Lounge, said she hasn't seen any change in business since the price of parking increased, but said they would have a better idea in the summer.

"It's shoulder season right now so it's hard to make a call, but I know guests will be upset because pay parking is what it is, and people don't like to pay for parking on top of everything else," she said. "In a way it lets the locals down a little bit. There's not a lot of free stuff to go around in Whistler. It would be nice if locals could get a parking pass they could buy from the municipality that would be half price."

Steve from The Circle Skate and Snowboard Shop said there will be "a lot of pissed off people" as a result of the change.

"A lot of people don't even realize its pay parking because they're used to meters or whatever, and get towed or ticketed. If people are rushing into a store to get something they're not going to stop and read every sign."

He doesn't believe it will impact his own business, but expects many of his customers will park in the Marketplace to avoid paying for parking.

The Trilogy Group of Companies, which owns and operates the Marketplace, is watching the situation in Whistler closely. In response to an e-mail, senior vice president Tom Johnston said the lot will remain free for the time being.

As for people using their lot to do errands elsewhere in the village, Johnston says that's already happening.

"That is not a new concern," he wrote. "For this reason we have had an active parking management program in place for years that has included time limitations supported by ticketing and towing enforcement. The goal of the program has historically been to maximize the availability of parking for customers of the businesses at Whistler's Marketplace while they are actively at businesses at Whistler's Marketplace.

According to Johnston they have not been approached by the RMOW about adding pay parking to the lot, and any decision would be made after consulting tenants.

Whistler Blackcomb is still concerned about pay parking in the day skier lots, but is not as opposed as they have been in the past. Taking the long view, senior vice president of operations Doug Forseth believes that pay parking can be a positive thing.

"We have been part of negotiations (with the province) for 11 years about the day lots, and that was resolved last year when the province gave the day skier lots to the municipal government, and they did so with our blessing," he said.

"Our initial concern was what the cost of parking would do to the day visitor's experience, but I think we have to balance that with things like the quality of air and environment we have here. I think that's a real issue, and maybe it's moving slowly and less obviously, but I can see what's happening to the air quality in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Now you can see smog from the top of Whistler peak in the summer months creeping up Howe Sound."

Whistler Blackcomb did win a concession, which was the ability to set rates during the winter ski season. That's why pay parking is $8 an hour during the winter instead of $12.

Whistler Blackcomb also received assurances that the estimated $500,000 raised from pay parking in the day lots would go towards enhancing public transportation.

Although he's heard the rumours himself, Forseth says there are currently no plans to add pay parking to the above ground or underground lots at Franz's Trail.

"That doesn't mean it won't happen, eventually we may have to look at that. But we have no plans right now for adding pay parking to the Creekside or the Blackcomb (Base II) parking lots," said Forseth.

While he acknowledged that the timing may be unfortunate, he said the wheels were set in motion before the economic crisis.

"I can't comment on the municipality's reasons (for adding pay parking to the conference centre or doubling rates), but I am trying to look at it on a longer term, bigger picture basis, and I think protecting our environment is very important. I've seen huge changes in Canada and in Whistler, and I don't like the way things are going."