Most within my generation have yet to witness a thriving Columbia Street lined with parked cars and foot traffic meandering in and out of shops. We all want to see that day return off course. I for one believe it can and will.
The cities made great strides in recent years and the completion of projects like the Multi-Use Civic Facility, Waterfront Pier Park, and Trapp Block will continue that positive trend. There still is heated debate over a number of issues going forward, however, one thing that is not up for debate is the need for consumers and lots of them if we are to see the return of a bustling Columbia Street.
These consumers will need to come from both within and outside town to support business growth. They will come on foot, on train, on bus and by car. The latter is the biggest issues as business owners and the city debate where and how to accommodate sufficient parking spaces.
Likely one of Downtown New Westminsters most puzzling and contentious issues is in fact parking. At the heart of the discussion is what to do with the downtown parkade, backwards angled parking and bike lanes on Columbia Street. For now I’ll focus solely on the parkade.
The city has proposed the removal of the west end of the downtown parkade. This is such a contentious issue for many that some local business owners are rallying to “Save the Parkade” this evening at The Columbia Theatre. Below I have copied the flyer sent out for the rally earlier this week for the rally:
- Downtown Merchants and Landlords have not seen any line of reasoning from city hall showing that removal of the Parkade or reduction in parking will improve business.
Merchants and landlords will lose over $6,000,000 in rents and personal income during the West Parkade demolition and Front Street realignment process.- Removing 283 parking spaces and replacing them with only 36 much despised back in angle meter parking spaces will not be adequate for area prosperity.
- Other than the East Parkade, there are no monthly or multiple hour parking spaces available for our workforce. Not everyone takes the train to work.
- The city has not implemented any long term plan to create decentralized parking spaces. In fact, most new developments have relaxed parking requirements.
- The parkade is a $20,000,000 revenue generating, downtown revitalizing, asset to save, not to destroy. Smart money would invest in its rehabilitation and enhancement.
- The parked and Front Street are in need of a long term vision including noise abatement, safety, maintenance, beautification and enhancement.
- The parked was created by the merchants, paid by merchants and its fate and management should be controlled by merchants.
Save the Parkade Committee can be reached at – savetheparkade@gmail.com
Anyone who has been engaged in conversation with me regarding Downtown New West Revitalization will know I am not the biggest fan of this parkade. What bothers me most is the dodgy area it creates along Front Street which I have long believed could be a real neat, trendy street. Instead its not at all desirable to walk, is cold, dark, and sketchy. I fully understand this is also due to the train tracks.
Despite the fact we have a great asset that many downtown cores do not with Skytrain stations bookending our downtown core. I believe it is a stretch to think all of our much needed consumers are going to travel in on Skytrain alone. I can’t imagine a ton of shoppers going out of their way to Skytrain and then lug their goods back home the same way. That’s why I strongly believe that we need a parking solution that doesn’t assume people will be primarily using public transit and to remove significant amounts of current parking capacity wouldn’t be appropriate.
We need a solution that removes any barriers to consumers visiting our downtown. If consumers feel it is laborious to visit they will choose not to come. Therefore, we need a solution that is inclusive of all transit options while keeping in line with a long term vision for downtowns revitalization.
I appreciate the sentiment of long time New Westminsterites and longtime merchants who in fact carried the costs of the parkade for a substantial period of time. This point should not be disrespected nor overlooked. It is also true that the parkade generates a fairly significant revenue for the city through parking fees and from the filming industry (remember I, Robot?).
My feeling is that removing the west end of the parkade will not cause all that much disruption to current users or businesses (I could be wrong). I personally use that end quite often and will not be bothered by a little extra walk. Although once it is taken down it is not going back up the same so it’s likely best to explore repurposing the lot prior to removal. For example, as Park and Ride, free parking for consumers, or monthly parking options.
In an ideal world there is a solution that incorporates the encapsulation of the train tracks providing undisturbed access to the waterfront while accommodating the necessary parking. Our city was founded on the banks of the Fraser River and we should not be cut off from it; I believe this is the big picture. This would understandably be extremely expensive, require many a deal to be made with current land owners, and a significant amount of time.
Until then I am ok with the partial removal of an old, ugly, mostly empty, and seemingly unstructurally sound parkade if it is openly discussed and decidedly the best approach for the time being. Parking is and will remain to be vital to downtowns growth though and I do not believe it should be taken too far at this point.
That is my quick take. If you take great interest in this topic I suggest you swing by Columbia Theatre this eveing.
What’s your opinion? Would you like to see the parkade stay in tact as is, revitalized, repurposed or removed?
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