Sign confusion leads to parking problem
ALLAN BENNER
POSTMEDIA NETWORK
Curling fans visiting St. Catharines this week may have found $30 parking tickets waiting for them on their vehicles.
The city, however, has since taken steps to clear up confusion that may have led to numerous parking tickets being handed out Tuesday afternoon, said St. Catharines billing manager Lisa Read.
Daniel Stelmaschuk, an avid curling fan from Welland said he pulled into a parking lot, planning to watch Draw 9 of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
He said he was shocked to find “parking tickets on at least 75 per cent of the vehicles” in the lot.
“It doesn’t make for good publicity,” Stelmaschuk said. “I’m not very happy about the situation.”
She said the confusion was likely a result of two signs posted at the entrance to a few city parking lots near Meridian Centre, such as one on Race Street. One sign says the lot is for permit holders only during business hours, but a second sign posted on the opposite side of the entrance says “special event parking $5, when an attendant is present.”
Problems resulted from people reading the special event parking sign, and missing the sign about permit parking.
Since there was no attendant present, some drivers assumed it was free to park there.
“There was no attendant there, but there was just a guy going around and issuing tickets for $30,” Stelmaschuk said. “Even the guy issuing the tickets should have realized something’s wrong here, but that didn’t happen.”
Read said city staff were at the parking lots Wednesday to cover the special event parking signs with plastic bags, hoping to avoid confusion in the future. The bags will be removed in the evenings, when the special event parking is in place.
She said the city does have a process to allow people to dispute their tickets.
“We’re totally understanding of what has gone on, so we’re happy to discuss it.”
She advised people to call the parking services department at city hall at 905-688-5600.
Although there are about 1,000 city-owned parking spots in downtown St. Catharines, Meridian Centre alone has the capacity to hold as many as 6,000 people, according to its website. But there are also hundreds of additional metered parking spaces, as well as private lots that can accommodate an event of this magnitude.
“We host a number of events and sometimes simultaneously, between the performing arts centre and Meridian Centre,” Read said.
She said parking information has been posted on both the city and Meridian Centre websites to help people plan their visit.
Doug Geddie, vice-chair of the Scotties host committee, said the city has been “bending over backwards to try to accommodate people” during the event.
He said city staff that event organizers met with prior to the tournament “were suggesting event-level parking and additional staffing at the garages.”
“The city knew about it and the city was prepared,” Geddie said. “My understanding was they were going to cut some slack.”
Stelmaschuk managed to avoid getting a parking ticket himself, eventually making his way to the golf club on Westchester Avenue where free parking was available, and a shuttle service provided rides to the nearby arena, where he said parking also posed a challenge.
“There are 400 volunteers and they had to park at the golf course, too, so there was very limited availability,” Stelmaschuk said.
Free chance to try dragon boating
After the success of a recent event that let breast cancer survivors try dragon boating for free, the breast cancer survivor crew Wonder Woman’s Warriors is hosting another free try night. An RSVP is not mandatory, but people interested are asked to contact wonderwomanswarriors@ outlook.com or call 289-9908303. More information is available at wonderwomanswarriors.com. An additional session is being held for anyone else interested in an introduction to the sport. People interested in that session are asked to contact rdalton@ southniagaracanoeclub.com, with more information available at southniagaracanoeclub.com. Both sessions take place at Welland International Flatwater Centre on March 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Two suspects wanted after St. Catharines assault
Niagara Regional Police are looking for two suspects after a 37-year-old St. Catharines man suffered minor injuries during an assault late Tuesday evening. Police officers arrived at an apartment complex on Lake Street at about 11:47 p.m. to find the injured man, who had been beaten by men armed with a metal pipe and steel-toed boots. Police say the assault was not random, and two suspects have been identified. Arrest warrants for assault with a weapon have been issued for Jamie Westlake, 53, and Reid Dyson, 23, both of St. Catharines. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the two men is asked by police to contact detectives at 905-688-4111 ext. 4376
Job Fair this Saturday
The Niagara Parks Commission will host its annual job fair Saturday at the Niagara Falls campus of Niagara College. The agency wants to fill 350 positions this year in a number of departments including culinary, retail, attractions and transportation. The job fair will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at 5881 Dunn St. Applicants are encouraged to bring their resume on the day of the job fair and also to create an online profile in order to submit formal applications, ahead of Feb. 25, at http://corporate. niagaraparks.com/employment/