City of Penticton community engagement specialist JoAnne Kleb, left, speaks with Terrace residents Michael and Denise Anthony about parking issues in the city.

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

PENTICTON - The City of Penticton wants to hear what residents and visitors have to say about parking in the Peach City.

Director of development services Anthony Haddad was canvassing members of the public along the Lakeshore Drive promenade this morning, June 14, in an effort to assess their thoughts on parking, not only along Lakeshore Drive, but in the city in general.

“Council is really interested in getting feedback from the public about the parking strategy downtown, along the waterfront, the hospital and around the South Okanagan Events Centre,” Haddad said, noting parking pressure issues varied around the city.

“Before we make any decisions, we want to get the public’s view on their parking needs, from residents, and the business community. We’ve been talking to a lot of tourists today which has been interesting to get their perspective of parking and how the issue is handled in their hometowns,” Haddad said.

Haddad said the City was aware residents wanted access to beaches “without too many barriers” when asked about plans for paid parking.

“It’s interesting discussing the needs of businesses, who need to have an increase in turnover of traffic into their business, the tourists that come and enjoy the beach for five or six hours a day, using the same parking space, then you’ve got the residents who are here year ‘round, and enjoy the beaches the same as the tourist do,” Haddad said, adding prioritizing the different types of uses of various parking areas is part of the discussion.

Haddad said the City’s parking revenues are mainly generated from downtown parking spaces, producing between $350,000 to $400,000 worth of revenue annually. Haddad would not say whether that amount represented a profit or a loss to the City.

“When we look at parking, revenue is one component, in terms of how we manage parking and the issues we’re we’re trying to address with parking restrictions we may put into place, that’s all part of the discussion, revenue is only part of it,” Haddad said.

The public feedback process takes place over the next two weeks as the city tries to gather as much opinion as possible.

Interested members of the public can complete a survey by registering at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca until June 30. City staff will be at the library between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on June 22 gathering input.

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