Ask The Mayor

Q.- I am thrilled about how effective this forum has become. The Mayor is doing a GREAT job of answering the questions put forth to him and I applaud him. Now for my question.

 

I have heard that there has been a plan approved for putting in a "park" on the vacant lot located on the SE corner of Moore Ave. and Adelaide. Although a lovely concept, I believe that corner lot could be used for a much better purpose. One of the problems, in my opinion, for the downtown area is lack of parking!!! I personally find myself not frequenting the stores, restaurants, etc. due to the parking problem. Is is not feasible to build a parking garage at that location? Just a thought. I'm sure the downtown business owner's would benefit a great deal more from adequate parking versus a "park".

 

Answer - Thanks for your question.

 

We had a good deal of discussion about using this as parking. The staff told us that, allowing for a proper parking lot layout we would only have room to park 5 or 6 cars. This did not seem to be enough parking to justify the expense that would be incurred. The lot is simply not large enough allow for any kind of multi-level parking.

 

Some of the downtown merchants have complained about employees parking on Moore. A few weeks ago, this came up again and the police reminded everyone that this is two hour parking only. I think the situation has improved some since then.

 

I understand that in the past a lot of the businesses used improved back entrances for customers who parked in the back. Perhaps this is something that can be looked into.

Sincerely,

 

Hal Richards, Mayor