KBCIA asks City of Kamloops to put the brakes on downtown parking rate increase

Dec 8, 2017 | 2:26 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association (KCBIA) wants the City of Kamloops to postpone its scheduled 25-cent downtown parking rate hike set to go into effect January 1, 2018.

General Manager Gay Pooler says when the increase was put into a City bylaw in 2013, “there were expected timelines and outcomes that have not been realized yet.”

“Considering the lack of newly-created long term public parking, receiving timely and relevant information on our current downtown parking situation and the negative public perception regarding downtown, the KCBIA is requesting that City Council defer the slated January 1, 2018 increase for one year, until a study has been completed, or creation of long term parking.”

And although council recently voted down a $100,000 parking study, Pooler is confident a new, revised study will gather popular support in a “slightly expanded form” including not just parking, but transportation as well.

“They just want to see that expanded a little bit more so it becomes a little bit more all-encompassing study and if it comes back to council in that form I’m hopeful they would approve it.”

Pooler says the KCBIA will make their case for the postponement at next week’s council meeting.

Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian is looking forward to the discussion at Tuesday’s meeting.

“Well, I think the matter is going to come before council on Tuesday,” says Christian, who voted in favour of the previous study which was ultimately negated in a tie vote. He notes a postponement is still possible.

“Council can set rates whatever they want whenever they want but this is part of a three-year plan to bring our rates up to what normal downtown rates would be but that was predicated on paying for parking and if we’re not providing more parking than you don’t have a rationale to increase rates,” he says. “So, we have to see what happens with the new Hudson’s Bay lot we just put into plan on Seymour.

“What’s the demand there, what’s the utilization of that and look at where we’re at with parking for long-term or monthly parkers. Not so much for the daily parking because that seems to be pretty good. But it’s the second floor and above that really has a parking shortage in Kamloops.”

As it stands, the 25-cent increase will set the rates as follows come January 1, 2018: 

  • $1.50 per hour for the first two hours
  • $3 for the third hour