TAS
Senior Member
Higher downtown rents , as was noted in the story, doesn't help either, especially with lack of foot traffic.
|
|
|
- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
David A
Senior Member
While I understand that statement, I really disagree - actually we are not "on par" with other 1M+ cities in Canada. We do not have the concentration of jobs and offices that most do or residential that some others do.
This is why for instance, trying to blindly copy some other cities rules for parking is going to be recipe for disaster for us and will hurt small retail businesses like this. Yes, during the downtown fairly is busy 9 to 5 M to F so paid street parking makes sense, but extending paid parking to later in the evening and Sundays when it is dead is ridiculous and just more deters people from coming downtown when it is already hard enough to get them to come.
degrandprix
Active Member
"The biggest reason is accessibility. We hear it every day from our customers. ‘Oh, you're Downtown. I hate driving Downtown. There is no parking"
Edmonton bakery Mama Leila’s Keto Treats leaving Downtown location
Leila Evoy has spent nearly four years serving up keto-friendly treats in Downtown Edmonton, but soon, her bakery is heading north.edmontonjournal.com
Can't stand it when people say this, downtown has more parking available than anywhere in the city. People just don't want to pay $5 for the convenience of parking, which is hilarious when you compare it to the thousands they pay every month for the convenience of having a car.
Definitely adds to the argument that we should have free (time-limited) parking DT on evenings and weekends. Having to pay is a deterrent for people coming to the area, let's get rid of it until we actually have a decently sized car-free population that can support businesses without having to drive to them.
itom987
Active Member
There is no free parking in downtown. That is the problem.
Barnaby
Senior Member
Parking is extremely cheap downtown. There is an oversupply of surface parking lots. Transit is abundant. I spent a bunch of time DT before making the permanent move, so I experienced being a visitor.
The people that complain about downtown parking aren't going to be regular visitors no matter what. The main way to increase foot traffic is housing density. The next best way is via transit, which is why the VLW will help substantially.
Many of these businesses complaining about parking would crash out faster in a warehouse district CRU that has provided on-site parking.
kcantor
Senior Member
Depending on where you are, it can be cheaper to pay for parking downtown than to avoiding.
Assuming 12 litres per 100 km and gas at $1.50 per litre, it costs $0.18 per km to drive around the city.
A round trip to WEM for us is 30 km or $5.40 in fuel and I can only dream about 12 litres per 100 or 94 octane fuel at $1.50 per litre.
Assuming 12 litres per 100 km and gas at $1.50 per litre, it costs $0.18 per km to drive around the city.
A round trip to WEM for us is 30 km or $5.40 in fuel and I can only dream about 12 litres per 100 or 94 octane fuel at $1.50 per litre.
itom987
Active Member
Ken, most people are not going to crunch those numbers. Why go downtown and pay when you can park for free everywhere else. It doesn't matter how 'cheap' it is. You still have to pay!
itom987
Active Member
It can take 15 minutes to find a free parking stall at WEM and people don't mind wasting that time looking for a spot. Imagine if it was like that downtown!
itom987
Active Member
One more thing, the process of paying for parking alone is as much a pain in the ass as it is to find a free spot in a full parking lot.
itom987
Active Member
I'm going to walk to WEM and do a little shopping, I will take some pics as well...
degrandprix
Active Member
It's dumb but I think its because people see spending $90 to fill their tank every week as just a part of life, and don't equate that amount to the distance they drive very well.
Whereas paying for parking is a more in-your-face fee that they think is adding to the cost of visiting a paid-parking area.
Gus Haynes
Active Member
The fact that every parking lot now has a different weird app they want you to download in order to pay for parking (as opposed to paying at either a machine or an attendant) can be quite irritating.
kcantor
Senior Member
^^
Sometimes I wonder if our cars have become too efficient or if our gas and our gas taxes are still too cheap to encourage self rationing.
My daily driver for 15 years was a V12 Jaguar. I still own a sister to that car that is now 33 years old but it is a “summer car” only that’s never seen winter roads. In the city they’ll consume 20-22 litres of 94 octane fuel per 100 km if driven gently.
My current daily driver is a 24 year Jaguar with a supercharged V8 that manages to deliver closer to 16 litres of 94 octane per 100 km in the city if driven gently. Driving them gently is neither easy nor particularly good for them.
The Jags were one of the reasons I chose to live where my commute was less than 6 km per day total instead of 30 or more. They also have us consolidating our errands as much as possible so they’re done as a group incurring concurrent rather than cumulative kilometres.
Sometimes I wonder if our cars have become too efficient or if our gas and our gas taxes are still too cheap to encourage self rationing.
My daily driver for 15 years was a V12 Jaguar. I still own a sister to that car that is now 33 years old but it is a “summer car” only that’s never seen winter roads. In the city they’ll consume 20-22 litres of 94 octane fuel per 100 km if driven gently.
My current daily driver is a 24 year Jaguar with a supercharged V8 that manages to deliver closer to 16 litres of 94 octane per 100 km in the city if driven gently. Driving them gently is neither easy nor particularly good for them.
The Jags were one of the reasons I chose to live where my commute was less than 6 km per day total instead of 30 or more. They also have us consolidating our errands as much as possible so they’re done as a group incurring concurrent rather than cumulative kilometres.
itom987
Active Member
I went to WEM today, welcome to Edmonton's busiest street.
IMG_4557 by Thomas Huizinga, on Flickr
IMG_4560 by Thomas Huizinga, on Flickr
IMG_4559 by Thomas Huizinga, on Flickr
It's about time we admit that it is the busiest street in Edmonton. There is more traffic here than there is on Jasper Avenue and Whyte Avenue combined. It's time to rip a page out of the suburban playbook (free parking) and apply it to downtown. The owners of WEM don't want Edmonton to do this because it would force them to add density around their mall. This would be a win-win situation for Edmonton.
IMG_4557 by Thomas Huizinga, on FlickrIMG_4560 by Thomas Huizinga, on FlickrIMG_4559 by Thomas Huizinga, on FlickrIt's about time we admit that it is the busiest street in Edmonton. There is more traffic here than there is on Jasper Avenue and Whyte Avenue combined. It's time to rip a page out of the suburban playbook (free parking) and apply it to downtown. The owners of WEM don't want Edmonton to do this because it would force them to add density around their mall. This would be a win-win situation for Edmonton.
kcantor
Senior Member
^
That’s where we will agree to disagree…
You didn’t go to WEM for the free parking, you went to WEM for the stores and attractions and food and services and entertainment.
My guess is that even if parking downtown was free, you still would have gone to WEM.
WEM attracts between 90,000 and 200,000 people per day depending on the season that, like you, don’t go for the free parking or you would see them going elsewhere where the parking is both free and less congested.
That’s where we will agree to disagree…
You didn’t go to WEM for the free parking, you went to WEM for the stores and attractions and food and services and entertainment.
My guess is that even if parking downtown was free, you still would have gone to WEM.
WEM attracts between 90,000 and 200,000 people per day depending on the season that, like you, don’t go for the free parking or you would see them going elsewhere where the parking is both free and less congested.