Parking Modernization in Downtown Prince GeorgeParking Modernization in Downtown Prince George In response to a motion passed by the City Council, staff has recommended a timeline and scope of work to modernize the parking strategy in downtown Prince George. Timeline and Scope of Work Q3/4 2024: * Contract with an experienced parking consultant to assess the existing strategy. * Assess includes community involvement, evaluation of municipal parking garages, consideration of C1 zone expansion for parking regulation, and inventory of parking spaces. Q2 2025: * Staff present report to Council with recommendations for a new parking strategy. Hospital Zone Parking To relieve pressure on the hospital zone, staff recommends: * Maintain free two-hour parking in the immediate area surrounding medical services. * Implement paid parking using the HotSpot application on remaining streets. * Charge $1.00/hour for extensions after two free hours. * Offer all-day parking for $7.00. Council Decision The Council unanimously adopted both recommendations. Contact Information * Charlotte Peters, Manager of Bylaw Services * Councillor Ron Polillo Subscribe to Local News Subscribe to the daily news roundup to receive local stories in your inbox every evening. Social Media and Contact * X: @AdamBerls * Email: [email protected]
Staff recommends that the following timeline and scope of work be implemented to modernize the parking strategy in downtown Prince George and comply with the text of the motion:
“The City of Prince George will contract with an experienced parking consultant in Q3/4 2024 to assess the existing strategy and provide guidance on developing options to provide better parking experiences for customers and business owners in the future. Staff believes this assessment should include:
- Community Involvement
- An evaluation of the business case for each municipal parking garage
- Consideration of the size and layout of the C1 zone with a view to expanding the zone for the purpose of parking regulation only (not expanding the actual C1 zone area)
- An inventory of the number of parking spaces in the city centre (both on-street and off-street) in order to be able to make recommendations.”
Staff will then present a report to Council in the second quarter of 2025 with recommendations for a new, modernized parking strategy for downtown Prince George.
In terms of relieving pressure on the hospital zone, staff in the report recommend that a number of actions be taken. The first is that “the area immediately surrounding medical services affected by the construction (namely UHNBC, the Northern Interior Health Unit, the John G. MacKenzie Family Practice, Kordyban Lodge, the Phoenix Medical Building, Simon Fraser Lodge, Iris House and the BC Cancer Agency) remain as is with two (2) hours of free parking.”
The second recommendation is that “the remaining streets in the hospital zone be made available for paid parking using the HotSpot application. In line with other areas of the city, the rate for extending the time after two (2) free hours would be $1.00/hour. The customer would also be able to park all day for a fee of $7.00, which is consistent with prices elsewhere in the city.”
Charlotte Peters, Manager of Bylaw Services, noted that “there is still a lot of work to be done to get this done right.” Councillor Ron Polillo said the modernisation was “long overdue”.
The Council unanimously adopted both recommendations.
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X: @AdamBerls
Email address: [email protected]
