THUNDER BAY — Safety worries were top of mind for some of the people who attended the City of Thunder Bay's drop-in session Wednesday related to parking in the downtown cores.
Approximately 30 individuals showed up at the Prince Arthur Hotel for the meeting that was aimed at gathering input from downtown residents.
The city arranged the session in the wake of criticism emerging from the recent implementation of higher parking rates and a two-hour extension of the enforcement period, from the previous 7:00 p.m. termination time to 9:00 p.m.
Stacey Drombolis, who lives on Court Street in the north core, said safety is a big issue for people such as service-sector workers making the minimum wage who must walk home late at night because parking has become unaffordable.
"I completely understand that there are budgetary requirements and operational costs that the city has to balance," she said in an interview, but "one of the biggest challenges is the time at which we're going to be departing our place of employment, which is often 12:30 or one o'clock in the morning . . . I've been followed leaving the downtown core walking home."
Drombolis said: "It has truly been very difficult, very anxiety-inducing, and really I don't think that the upgrades or necessary increases to budgets should come at [the expense of] the safety, security or feelings of inclusion and comfort for those of us in the downtown core."
She said it's been suggested that workers travel in groups, but feels that's a challenge because people are coming and going at different times.
Drombolis believes it's just a matter of time before someone gets robbed or hurt while walking in the downtown area.
Safety is a high priority, as well, for another downtown resident, who also happens to own a business in the north core.
Jacqueline Johns said when she parked in the Heart of the Harbour parkade, her car was broken into twice in a single summer, and when she parked closer to her building someone threw a cinder block through the window.
"Coming from the voice of a resident, I think safety is a huge concern . . . Just maybe having cameras and better visibility, better lighting, so people feel comfortable walking from the parkade to their residence or to their buildings."
William Vanderwees, a resident of the waterfront district, said he believes the city has "gone overboard" with the changes in parking rates.
"Recently I've noticed that the number of people showing up there to park is down at least by about 60 per cent . . . There used to be a lot of people there who walked with their dog, or walked with a walker, and you don't see them anymore. It was so good for the elderly people or for anybody who needs exercise. It was really for the health of the community that the marina part was open there."
Vanderwees wants to see paid parking moved back to 6:00 p.m. weekdays, and free on weekends, and said he also worries for business operators in the area who may start to see fewer customers.
He's already not seeing as many people going to the marina for lunch or to enjoy a cup of coffee.
"It's just not the same. I really think we've moved a little too fast on it."
Other residents at the meeting also complained that parking fees at Marina Park are deterring people, including low-income families and single mothers with children, from being able to enjoy the public facilities there.
Neil Irvine, who lives on Summit Avenue, had a different perspective, saying he thinks the city gives a lot of consideration to people with cars, but not a lot of consideration to those who reside downtown.
"There's a conception that there's not enough parking, but just the parkade itself has 850 spots. If you look at an aerial view of downtown, probably more than half the space is taken up by parking and roads. I think we actually need to have a better control of parking in the downtown."
Irvine said the amount of vehicular traffic makes for a negative environment in the area.
"For example, the patio experience at restaurants, I've had pickup trucks 'rolling coal' [emitting large amounts of black or grey exhaust gases] right on top of me, or having chopper motorcycles going by, and it's just not a conducive environment for a business or a resident."
He also said he believes the downtown needs to be "reopened and imagined as a place to live rather than a place to visit," calling it the most valuable part of the city and the only part of the city that belongs to everybody.
A communications officer with the City of Thunder Bay said staff will review all of the feedback received at the meeting and prepare a report for presentation to council later this month.
Attendees were also asked to complete questionnaires about where they park downtown, whether they use metered spaces or the parkade, and where they park when calendar parking is in effect.
A spokesperson for the city said there are no plans to have a similar meeting in the southside downtown.
(with files from Leigh Nunan/TBT News)
