The headline about a downtown parking assessment caught my eye. I wondered if the story was a flashback to the days and months before the downtown arena was built and parking was a common coffee row topic.
But no, the story under the headline was the latest version of the same topic. Council, at an executive committee meeting, was talking about downtown parking again, relating to modern times and into the future.
The question seemed to be whether there will be adequate parking to meet the needs of the events centre, a new hotel on part of River Street and any further business developments in that area. Yes indeed: same topic only a few years later.
Executive committee, by a slim majority, decided it would be worthwhile to have an assessment done to determine whether there are enough spots to handle all the anticipated increase in traffic that the new business ventures will generate. The hotel is taking care of its own parking requirements, according to the story so the concern seems to be whether the other yet-unnamed businesses will take up the remaining spots on city streets.
And that word “parkade” came up, likely sending shivers down the backs of taxpayers who might correctly think they would likely be assessed another levy for an edifice they might never use and would not return a profit in any near future.
The kicker is the decision to spend $11,150 to count parking stalls and determine if enough spaces exist to satisfy the needs of new developments.
Several councillors correctly suggested spending money on another study would not be fiscally responsible, considering the serious cuts to the 2024 budget and the facts and figures that should already be available from past assessments. This equates to re-inventing the wheel, with a parkade thrown in for good measure.
When the downtown arena was constructed, the conversations suggested it would take a long time to find a place to park, then to return to the vehicle and return home. It turned out to be a bogus argument and it was quickly discovered it was faster than trying to get out of the lines at the Civic Centre after hockey games.
Depending on whether council at its next meeting, agrees to spend $11,150, I offer a suggestion to keep that money in Moose Jaw rather than putting it in the hands of an out of-town consultant — hire the two seniors’ organizations in the city to take on the count, going up and down both sides of the streets in a designated area and count the spots. The seniors could travel in pairs so accurate counts can be verified.
I can see it now: dozens of seniors in their motorized scooters, pushing walkers or walking briskly getting their exercise while at the same time counting for their city.
Some might regard this as a frivolous suggestion but certainly not as frivolous as the idea that city taxpayers might be excited about having to provide money for a parkade.
The next meeting of city council on Feb. 12 will be one to watch. This is the meeting where the executive committee minutes might or might not be approved.
Is there a parkade in River Street’s future? For sure it will be notoriously expensive.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
