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Free parking downtown is not the favoured route by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff 3 | Wednesday, July 16, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Patios, outdoor displays and parking signs could soon pop up around downtown Oakville, Kerr and Bronte villages. Town of Oakville staff detailed immediate and revitalization action plans for the town's three mainstreet commercial districts at Monday's Community Services Committee. Those plans are now headed to council for final approval Monday (July 21). They include two three-year pilot programs -- for outdoor patios and outdoor displays. Beginning immediately there will be improvements to signs that direct people to parking areas. Other items for immediate action include a new ambassador program that will allow the three Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) to hire students to promote tourism in each of the areas. As well, new quick-stop, 20-minute parking spaces (one per block, per direction), resurrection of parking lines painted on the road and more bicycle parking. Staff also presented a review of potential free parking programs in downtown and Kerr Village -- after consultation with the community, the three BIAs and the Oakville Tourism Partnership. Dan Cozzi, director of Oakville's Engineering and Construction, said while no one agrees on one single solution, there is an overwhelming concern that parking is not easily found by visitors or residents. Still, free parking is not being recommended by staff at this time. Instead, a revitalization plan has curried favour. It includes study of the feasibility of building a parking garage ahead of the scheduled 2016/17 Lakeshore Road reconstruction and the delay of that construction until 2018/19. Councillors on the committee appeared to agree. Ward 4 Town and Regional Councillor Allan Elgar said the measures could help relieve a lot of angst across Oakville. A few delegations spoke up -- applauding what they liked but also lobbying for something to address their outstanding concerns. For one, Sharlene Plewman, executive director of the Downtown Oakville Business Improvement Area (BIA), said she would still like free parking to be considered as an option to help stimulate the downtown Oakville economy. "We've had some discussions ourselves with the residents in area to look at free parking as a stimulus for coming downtown," she said. "More than 50 per cent of those who responded to the survey said free parking would entice them to come downtown more often." She continued, of 187 respondents, 182 supported a free parking initiative, while five supported the increased garage option, but didn't Sharlene Plewman necessarily agree with a free parking program. Plewman said the BIA is asking for up to three hours of free parking in the downtown area and have parking free on Saturdays, the same as it now on Sundays. The BIA would also like fees associated with joining the pilot patio program waived for the first year, since it's halfway through July already, she added. Bruce Miller, co-owner of The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro, echoed Plewman's remarks, noting while he applauds the idea of building a second parking garage and more signs to better direct people to parking, he would also like to see free parking. "From my experience in different communities where it has been successful like in Waterloo and Milton, those are the communities that are offering a restricted time period with employee parking incentives at lots farther away," said Miller, noting there are 20 The WORKS locations across Ontario. He said it doesn't have to be all-day, every day, but giving patrons three hours of free parking would help the downtown economy. Miller added the patio program is a great idea and he's willing to participate, however, with the associated costs, he asked the Town to waive its fees for this year. The proposed pilot program for patios could cost merchants as little as $250 or more than $10,000 each year, depending on three patio options. A permit for a bistro patio comprised of a few small tables costs $250, an enclosed patio space next to a building costs $750, while an extended patio with an enclosure that would extend along the length of the eatery into a parking lane costs $750 and $20 per day per parking space for lost revenues. It would cost approximately $3,120 for the use of one parking space from April 15-Oct. 15 for a total cost of $3,870 or $10,110 for the use of three parking spaces. Meanwhile, the permit for outdoor merchant displays is proposed to be $110 each year. For more on the strategies for Oakville's commercial districts report, visit www.oakville.ca and click on Agendas and Minutes. inside today's Editorial Sports Beaver www.insideHALTON.com Real Estate Rona Lowes Canada Florida Homes & Lifestyle National Sports Bouclair 6 11 Artscene Classified 10 13 *All flyers not necessarily delivered to all homes For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com Helping You Make Smart Decisions About Your Money Voted Number 1 Financial Planner 10 Years THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO DESIGN YOUR DREAM AYA KITCHEN Peter Watson MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI Certified Financial Planner SINCE 1991 AYA KITCHENS OF OAKVILLE · 1195 North Service Road West AyAoakville.com · 905.847.1522 220 Randall Street · Downtown Oakville Phone: 905.842.2100 www.peterwatsoninvestments.com