City to undergo review of parking downtown and near UHNBC

The City of Prince George will go ahead with a review of on-street parking in the downtown core and near UHNBC.

The motion came from Councillor Kyle Sampson at last night’s (Wednesday) meeting, who said it’s something he’s been hearing about since before he was elected.

The motion asks administration to return a report to council with recommendations to revamp the parking bylaw.

“I think looking at a full revamp on addressing some of those shortcomings and creating a better user experience would be beneficial,” Sampson said.

“I do hope we consider transit as one of the solutions to parking issues,” said Councillor Trudy Klassen.

“Also I’m just wondering because I know the capacity in our downtown parkades is quite low, and to include that study, perhaps talk to a really, super amazing retailer about ways to encourage people to use the parkades.”

In addition, council directed administration to look at the on-street parking around the hospital, which has been impacted by current and ongoing construction projects, namely the new parkade at UHNBC.

“I think there is things we can do to improve on that situation in the interim, and alleviate some of those pressures, because there is increased pressures because of the construction happening in that area that will be ongoing for the next many years,” Sampson said.

“I do see in the future, perhaps a viaduct connecting the Staples parking lot direct to the hospital parking lot,” said Mayor Simon Yu.

“Some part of the Parkwood Mall, the parking is underutilized.”

The findings of the review will come back at a later date, with enough time to implement changes in the fall of 2025.