The new parking lot in downtown North Battleford will begin requiring payment to park as of Sept. 1. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Downtown parking reviewed

Public meeting on downtown parking will look to collect feedback for study

Aug 8, 2019 | 5:01 PM

Those who want to address any concerns they may have about downtown parking are invited to attend an upcoming open house in North Battleford.

Mayor Ryan Bater said residents and business people are welcome to participate in the event.

“We want to get feedback from the public on their views on parking downtown, the current state and how it can be improved,” he said.

There will be an opportunity to discuss the city’s new public parking lot near the Capital Theatre Annex.

“[The meeting] will encompass everything. It will be all parking in the city’s downtown,” Bater said.

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The mayor said consultants Crosby Hanna and Associates will look at all possible options to improve parking. The firm will gather feedback and return to council with a report of its findings at a later date.

“Everything is on the table,” Bater said. “We will see what works.”

The mayor said the city will look at parking options for people with mobility issues, as well as couriers’ parking needs. He said the city hopes to find out what residents and merchants would like to see.

“That is why we are engaging the public; we want to hear if there is [parking] congestion or concerns,” Bater said. “That is the information we are trying to collect. We encourage people to attend that open house and participate. The city gets good policy when we get good public input.”

Bater said Crosby Hanna and Associates are working on a study of the parking situation for the city’s downtown parking master plan.

“The need for the study is based on the rapid development of downtown,” the mayor said. “Not only has the city been investing, but new enterprises have been attracted to downtown North Battleford. We want to make sure that the policies around parking are reflective of the additional traffic that we are seeing.”

Bater noted the new parking lot downtown is not designed to generate revenue for the city but rather discourage people from leaving their vehicles for an extended time during the day.

This new public parking lot will be available as paid-parking starting in September on weekdays, during the day only. It is free to use after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends. People can use their debit or credit cards during paid-parking intervals. The fee will be $1 per hour or $5 per day.

“For people coming to an evening movie for example, or to have dinner [at a downtown restaurant] this isn’t an issue,” Bater said. “The rest of downtown will remain as a two-hour parking limit, and it’s all free”

The public meeting is tentatively planned for Sept. 11 at the North Battleford Public Library.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW