Image Credit: City of Kamloops

By James Peters

TWO & OUT

PETERS: Unlike 2015, the parking issue has not been front and centre in this year’s Performing Arts Centre debate

Nov 8, 2019 | 1:06 PM

MEMORIES ARE SHORT, but during the upcoming debate over the performing arts centre, it is important to remember back to 2015.

The context this time around is vastly different, and one of the prime reasons for that is the City is not trying to fix the downtown parking issue.

The PAC proposal of 2015 was trying to solve two problems on one space – a noble idea, but one that ultimately confused the issue in the minds of some.

This time around, instead of a 355-stall parkade meant to alleviate much of the parking shortage in downtown Kamloops, we have a 70-stall garage meant mostly for staff and performance crews.

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It’s not intended to open up parking for the masses.

Strangely enough, though, the parking debate has become quieter and quieter in the past few years.

In 2015, it was a major talking point for City Hall and the public alike: there just wasn’t enough parking for everyone who wanted to be downtown.

We don’t hear that complaint much anymore.

Is it because people aren’t driving downtown as much?

Maybe, but that’s not a major factor.

Is it because a whole bunch more parking capacity has opened up since 2015?

Well, the former Daily News property in question here is now a parking lot, though it’s rarely full.

Hopefully, part of the reason parking isn’t a major topic of contention anymore is because people are becoming more realistic in their expectations.

Very rarely will you be able to park directly in front of the store or restaurant you are planning to enter, like you could in a small town.

In any other urban downtown, you would be overjoyed to find a parking spot a couple of blocks away. Maybe settling for a spot a little further away has made the commuting public realize the problem was never as severe as originally stated.

When a new performing arts centre is built, and a major production or concert is held there, parking nearby won’t be fun without an attached parkade.

Many of us, though, would gladly accept that headache in exchange for the headache of not having a proper performing arts venue.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.