Many of Victoria’s downtown retailers believe customers are staying away because of a parking crunch — hundreds of spots have disappeared in the construction boom, which blocks some street parking, while entire lots have been lost to condo and office development. City Council is looking at different proposals to address the shortage.
• The DVBA will be producing a map for public use with all the current downtown parking structures, lots and street parking spaces. The City operates five parkades, three surface parking lots and approximately 2,000 on-street parking spaces.
• Council will review the City’s parking rates, including the first-hour-free policy in parkades, as part of a larger look at downtown transportation issues. (Statistics show parkade usage has increased by 47% by those parking for three hours or less.)
Mayor Lisa Helps believes the City should focus on a setting a goal to encourage more people to use transit, cycle and walk. One proposal involves a parking lot which will be “park and ride” for commuters with a short shuttle ride into downtown.
• The DVBA is also working with Modo CarShare to produce a program that will work for businesses and help educate the public that Modo is in three of four Downtown parkades.
