A review of parking and traffic flow at Exhibition Park may be in the cards.
During city council's budget meeting on Monday night, community services general manager Rob Whitwham suggested a "proper study of the entire property and how traffic gets in and out of that facility" would be worth looking at.
Other than to say a study would be something staff will tackle sometime over the long term, Whitwham did not give a timeline.
His comments were in response to concerns raised by Coun. Garth Frizzell, including the distance users need to pack their gear to the adjacent rinks whenever nearby parking is taken up by patrons going to major events at CN Centre.
Coun. Frank Everitt spoke in favour of taking the step while also acknowledging a comment from Whitwham that making changes will likely leave some upset.
"I think that's an excellent idea," Everitt said. "It's not that long ago that we moved the handicapped parking around a little bit and there was a great uproar over that."
- On parking downtown, Coun. Brian Skakun asked about the possibility of removing the bulb outs, which he said could add 30 to 40 stalls that could be rented out on a daily basis in addition to the off-street parking available in the area.
Planning and development services general manager Ian Wells said the bulb-outs are there in the name of safety and added the city currently doesn't have the ability to provide pay parking on street.
"But moving forward and as our downtown grows and gets more vibrant, we see the opportunity for looking at paid parking," Wells added. "We wouldn't drive that process but the DBIA (Downtown Business Improvement Association) has mentioned over time there may be an interest to move people through the downtown quicker by having paid parking."
According to a 2007 study, the bulb-outs act as both traffic calming devices and an area of refuge for pedestrians while also decreasing crossing distance and reducing exposure to traffic.
On Fifth Avenue, bollards are used to mark out the zones.
On-street parking is limited to three hours per day. After that, you must parking in an off-street parking lot, which charges one dollar per hour, or risk a $50 fine. The time limit is enforced with the help of a bylaw enforcement car equipped with licence plate recognition software.
Wells also said numbers showing how well the system has worked should be available to present to council sometime in the summer.
