Burns Lake council is moving ahead with a plan to help alleviate the lack of available parking spaces in the downtown core before any major upgrades take place.
Council approved the inclusion of $2000 in this year’s provisional budget to implement short-term parking and loading zones in a section of Hwy. 16.
This decision comes after several complaints from community members and business owners about the lack of available parking in the downtown core. The issue is most prevalent in the area from First Avenue to Centre Street along Hwy. 16.
However, it still hasn’t been determined when the changes will be implemented or how much the fines will cost.
“Once the budget is approved staff will begin putting a plan together,” explained Sheryl Worthing, chief administrative officer for the Village of Burns Lake. “Lots of work to do before we have a final plan.”
When asked about enforcement, Worthing said the RCMP would have the authority to enforce the new rules.
“When we talked to the RCMP about that, they are going to do it based on what they notice and they will have the support of business owners [to monitor who’s not following the rules],” explained Worthing.
The implementation of the short-term parking and loading zones is just one of the proposed solutions to address the lack of available parking spaces in the downtown core. Village staff have looked into a number of solutions suggested by the merchants who attended a meeting with the village on Jan. 24, 2017.
Some of the options include expanding of the existing village parking lot at a cost of $140,000; reconfiguring the existing lot to allow more parking spaces at a cost of $20,000; and adding handicapped parking, which would cost $4500.
Worthing said the village might still move ahead with some of those suggestions after further discussions with business owners and building owners take place. However, these projects aren’t likely to start in 2017.
“If we’re going to make any major changes to the parking lot, we’re looking at the 2018 budget,” said Worthing.
Last month council also discussed asking business owners and building owners if they would be willing to pay for a portion of the costs to expand the village parking lot.
“We would look to come up with a full plan for the parking lot after we spoke with all the business owners and building owners,” added Worthing.