Centre in the Park parking
Published April 9, 2010
Centre-in-the-Park parking has now become the new cause célèbre with the realisation that user-pay parking has finally arrived in Sherwood Park. Like many Strathcona residents, I have taken smug pride in the absence of ubiquitous street meters and the oppression of the bleak commercial lots with their incomprehensible ticket dispensers. As long as we could park anywhere we liked at no charge, we were able to maintain the illusion of living in the country. Unfortunately, with an ever-increasing population occupying the same land area, those happy days are drawing to a close.
We are told that the new parking policy aligns with the vision of a community centre that is “sustainable” and “pedestrian-oriented”. Folks are to be encouraged to leave their cars at home in favour of healthier choices such as riding the bus, walking or cycling. Much as I applaud the intent, no new bus routes or cycling paths are part of the plan and CIP will never be anything but a tiny island of “walkability” as long as it is separated from the rest of the community by Sherwood Drive, a fast, multilane commuter road.
An even more disturbing aspect is that this plan erects yet another barrier to those of us who live in the rural parts of the county and notwithstanding that choice, help pay for the new facilities. There are neither cycle paths nor bus service in rural Strathcona. If we wish to visit the new library or county hall or the businesses at CIP to browse, shop or volunteer, we must do so by motor vehicle no matter how green we would like to be. This is unlikely to change in our lifetimes.
The heated underground parking structure in the new complex is expensive, both to construct and maintain. There is no way that this can be made available to anyone free of charge on a first come basis except under very limited circumstances. This has been well known right from the earliest planning stages.
Above ground, lot parking is different and perhaps a reasonable compromise would be to allow this to continue to be available without charge as it is at present. To do otherwise would necessitate a comprehensive review of all county controlled parking. Should there be a charge to park at Festival Place but not at Millennium? Should employees be required to pay for parking at County Hall but not at the service yards? These are questions for which there are no tidy answers.
Whatever the solution, someone will have to pay, whether it is the taxpayer or the user. Land used for parking is land not available to produce revenue in some other way and we cannot ignore that reality.
Alan Dunn
Councillor, Ward 6
780-464-8206
dunn@strathcona.ab.ca
Last updated: Friday, April 09, 2010
Page ID: 5412