Duane Hicks
In an effort to address parking problems and generate revenue to maintain the future market square, the town will take a hard look at parking meters for the downtown area.
Council agreed at Monday’s budget meeting to set up meetings with stakeholders such as the BIA, Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Advisory Committee, and public to get their input on the subject.
“I think it’s time,” said Mayor Roy Avis, who has brought the issue of parking meters forward several times over the years.
He noted one of the reasons the town received funding to develop the new Rainy Lake Market Square was to boost tourism.
He’s had numerous discussions with the bylaw department regarding parking and was told some people who work downtown park their vehicles on the street, moving their cars every two hours to avoid the two-hour parking restriction.
This limits the amount of parking spaces available for downtown visitors.
If the town is going to live up to the agreement to attract tourists, it’s going to have to figure out a way to move traffic or have more parking so people can stop in the downtown core.
Mayor Avis said he’s “tested the waters downtown,” and knows at least some business owners feel parking currently is being abused.
He added council should review the costs—and potential revenues—from parking meters.
Mayor Avis noted the town is “investing a tremendous amount of money” to rehabilitate the 200 block of Scott Street and once built, it will require revenue to maintain it.
Should that cost fall on the taxpayers or could parking meters help pay for that, he asked.
Coun. Ken Perry said he liked the idea of parking meters, and that the matter should be investigated with input from stakeholders.
“We’ve got to try something because it’s not working now,” he reasoned.
Coun. Perry noted the market square is being developed and he wants “to see a show-stopper there.”
“Somebody’s going to come down the street, jam on the brakes, and say, ‘I want to see that!’ We have to give them a place to park,” he stressed.
“There’s no sense having a show-stopper if the aisles are all full.”
Bylaw enforcement officer Patrick Briere gathered some preliminary information regarding past reports on the parking issue, and said it looked like parking meters might be the only way to address concerns.
He confirmed there has been complaints from various parties about parking, but solutions proposed in the past, including angle parking and one-hour parking, have not received support.
The town has three parking lots for downtown employees to use but they’re not well-utilized.
These include the lot just west of From the Grind Up and the Legion parking lot (both of which are free to use), and the Portage Avenue lot by the post office, which is free to use for the first two hours and a $1 an hour after that.
“I think we do need to investigate it further,” said Briere.
“If council wants to start controlling the downtown core, the option’s going to be parking,” he added.
“It the easiest, simplest way to enforce and control the parking in the downtown area.
“Is it going to go over well? Probably not. Nothing ever does,” Briere conceded.
“Kiss ’N Ride didn’t go over well the first three or months, either,” he noted.
“It’s a behaviour change; people got used to it over time.”
On the other hand, Coun. John Albanese said he does not feel there’s a parking problem in the downtown area.
“I hate the idea of installing parking meters in downtown Fort Frances,” he remarked.
“I’ve been in this town for 50 years almost and I’ve never, never in my life had a problem parking downtown,” added Coun. Albanese, though adding “sometimes I have to walk a block.”
Coun. June Caul agreed, saying she’s never had problems finding a parking spot on Scott Street.
She also felt the cost of installing new parking meters would not be worth it.
Preliminary findings by Briere found that electronic parking meters only would take two-three years to pay off.
