Downtown parking ban over
Public feedback will influence next year’s rules
People can again park overnight in the downtown on Water Street and Duckworth Street, with the end of the downtown parking ban.
The end of the parking ban also includes the pilot project on Water and Duckworth streets that saw no cars allowed to be parked between the hours of 3:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.
Transportation lead Coun. Debbie Hanlon says the city will take a look at feedback from the public to decide whether the ban will return for next winter.
“We’re going to get the information, evaluate that, then start engaging the public,” said Hanlon.
“We’ve already got lots of emails and information from stakeholders and people downtown, so it’s not like we don’t have any engagement right now. But we’ll be reaching out to every person that contacted me for as much engagement as possible on their take for how the ban worked.”
The ban had caused some commotion among the downtown community, in part from the George Street Association (GSA).
When the ban was first announced on Jan. 8, the GSA raised concerns about workers
in the downtown, who may have worked past 3:30 a.m. and faced a towed vehicle while they continued their shift.
Hanlon didn’t know the exact number of cars that had been towed as part of the downtown ban, but the most recent quoted number was in the 70s. Each of those towed vehicles
carried a $275 fee attached, between impoundment and a $25 fee that went to the city.
Senior hockey player Terry Ryan at one point got fed up with the ban after having his vehicle towed. He posted a video to social media blasting the ban, raising concern about a potential increase in drunk drivers if people were not allowed to leave their car downtown. Ryan later apologized for that video, calling it “childish.”
Hanlon says the city will wait until the feedback is gathered before deciding whether a similar ban will be put in place next winter.
“It’s hard to say. Something needs to be done,” she said.
“Most of the people that complained were those directly impacted by having their cars towed. The store owners and retailers are very much our concern as well, so we’re going to take in all aspects.”