If City Council is going to park the downtown parking issue for the summer, allow me to wade in on the topic.
I believe that all successful downtowns cater to pedestrians. One of the ways that the Prince George municipality can encourage pedestrian traffic in our downtown is by offering free parking.
Let's start by looking at the core issue of physical movement in any successful downtown. When it comes to the movement of people into and out of downtown businesses, one major thing needs to happen: complete ease of access to and among businesses for pedestrians. This is because people shop differently in downtown businesses than they do at businesses at a mall or large box store. Downtown businesses are often smaller boutique retail and service centres which encourage shoppers to "pop in and out" of various locations in close proximity to one another. Therefore, we need to encourage customers to stay longer and spend more. Downtown parking is a completely different beast from any other area in Prince George. Spending habits and pedestrian movement among businesses here can't be compared to other retail areas of our city.
Next, we move on to the downtown revitalization discussion. We've talked for decades about revitalizing downtown Prince George. It is finally happening, although not fast enough in my opinion. If we want this pendulum to continue swinging in the favourable direction that it has been over the last few years we need to give customers every reason to spend their hard earned money in the downtown. For a whole host of reasons (which unfortunately I don't have space to review in today's column) it is in the City's best interest to incentivize spending in the downtown core of Prince George. Happy tenants and satisfied customers will attract other businesses to locate downtown, thus creating a critical mass of success in our downtown. While a thriving downtown will naturally draw in spenders, their tourist dollars will flow to other areas of Prince George whereby the entire city will benefit.
We also need to pay attention to the advice and best practices of other cities whose downtowns have moved through transition towards revitalization. For example, Roger Brooks, an international expert in downtown development, tourism and marketing, undertook a 5 year study of more than 400 successful downtowns in the US and Canada. This study revealed the 20 most common ingredients that led to successful downtowns. Solving the parking dilemma is the first issue for the public sector on Brooks' list of recommendations. In brief, Brooks notes no less than 4 hours of parking in pedestrian friendly downtowns, he suggests programs where parking becomes free for those who can prove they've spent money in the downtown (i.e. refunding parking fees with receipt), and he recommends not penalizing people with parking tickets who are trying to spend money in downtown.
Focus energy on penalizing the abusers of the system. Incentivize downtown revitalization by extending free parking to downtown shoppers. Recognize that our work towards revitalizing downtown Prince George is far from over. Grow more pedestrian traffic, not less. And finally, let's work together to solve the parking dilemma with creativity, consultation, and innovative practices.
Until next week, stay in the black and keep coming back.
