City staff are recommending council give angled parking a try in downtown Sarnia.
It's recommended back-in angle parking be implemented on the west side of Front Street between George Street and Cromwell Street, to create an additional 15 to 20 parking spots.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said there are pros and cons to the proposal, but supply of available spots is certainly an issue in some areas of the downtown.
"There are parts of the downtown, like the Victoria Street lot beside the Tang's restaurant, which we've dropped the rate to $25 a month," said Bradley. "That's really a great deal and it's not getting the uptake that was hoped for. This really is a perennial issue. I could take it back to the 1950's, 60's and 70's on forward to today where parking is an issue for those who work there and for those who go there."
The recommendation towards angeled parking follows community consultation conducted in the spring. The majority of those who attended a public meeting were downtown business owners. The city also received 132 online responses.
Mayor Bradley said as development in the downtown grows, so does the need for parking.
"There's a crane on Front Street where they are building a $31 million apartment building and we've had two other major buildings in the last five years," said Bradley. That's brought that critical mass of people who want to go out and shop, who want to go out to the restaurants and the theatre. So, those are the things that are evolving which creates some of the parking issues, but I don't think we need radical surgery on this. There is enough parking, it's just is it allocated properly?"
City council will consider the recommendation at its meeting on Monday.
