Residents and some councillors have asked town staff to reconsider some of the proposed changes to paid parking at Sunset Point and Princeton Shores before the next council meeting.
Residents want to see higher parking rates and more space reserved for locals to park.
Those were the messages from a few people who called into last night’s development and operations standing committee meeting (April 12).
This was council’s first look at proposed changes for a permanent paid parking program at Sunset Point Park and Princeton Shores after the town implemented a pilot project last year.
Among several recommendations from staff is a rate of $7 per hour for parking, and a free pass for residents. Staff also propose a $100 parking pass for residents from Clearview, Wasaga Beach and The Blue Mountains.
Paul Douglas told council members on the committee and town staff the paid parking proposal doesn’t go far enough.
“I would ask that council perhaps give consideration to the thought that you should try to dissuade some people from coming here,” said Douglas during the meeting. “$7 per hour is better than decorative, but it’s not at all restrictive.”
He acknowledged it “sounds bad” to try to dissuade people from coming, but argued the population pressure from just local residents going to Sunset Point was already significant.
“I do feel saddened that we are basically losing access to our park because you’re not doing anything to restrict it,” he said.
Three more residents spoke to the committee about the capacity of Sunset Point Park, which saw record crowds in 2020.
Matthew Pretty suggested the town should close the park on weekends.
George Powell, a resident living at Sunset Point, said having a capacity limit is important and without it, parking restrictions won’t help.
Collingwood’s acting executive director of customer and corporate service and director of parks, recreation and culture, Dean Collver, said it’s difficult to pin down the capacity of outdoor space with multiple entry points.
“It’s always been a challenge, especially in COVID times to determine what constitutes capacity,” said Collver, noting he’s had discussions around the subject with his counterparts in other municipalities. “To date, nobody has been able to determine the capacity of an open park with multiple entry points … it would be like determining the capacity of a sidewalk.”
Even if the town could establish a capacity on the park, or assign a number to it, Collver said it would be a challenge to stem all the entry points to the park.
The development and operations committee members were in favour of a higher hourly parking rate, and asked staff to bring back a new recommendation with a higher rate considered.
An updated staff report will go to full council during the April 19 meeting.
To read the original staff report, click here.
To read more about the proposed changes for paid parking at Princeton Shores and Sunset Point, click here.
