I spent the weekend with the throngs of visitors and locals at the Peach City Beach Cruise car show on Lakeshore drive. It is by far my favorite event of the year, an amazing display of technology, ingenuity, art and money.
It was also a great display of parking and traffic dynamics. Although I walked, I couldn’t help but notice the parking (and lack thereof) situation in the area. If we have pay parking on Lakeshore, I dare say this will be the parking reality for downtown residents as people (mostly locals) try to avoid pay parking on the beach. If you live on Power, Dynes, Churchill, Alexander, Basset and Maple streets to name a few, you just received a test drive of your upcoming reality. How was it? Were you or your guests able to park close to your home?
If the city plans to use “resident parking only” placards, they had better start thinking about the upcoming casino parking plan. I don’t know if the casino will have pay parking immediately, but it is a good bet it will come soon. More “resident parking only” placards? It appears to me we are looking at placard parking from the area around Canadian Tire to Lakeshore Drive. For crying out loud city council, leave our beach, exercise and recreational parking alone.
George Murai
Penticton