City of Nanaimo looks at expanding free downtown parking

The first phase of the Design Commercial Project is expected to be done by May 2025. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

The City of Nanaimo is looking at options to expand its temporary free parking initiative during construction on Commercial Street.

The construction is the first phase of the Design Commercial project that started in September along Commercial Street. As the City adds subsurface and streetscape upgrades to the popular street, construction between Wharf Street to Church Street has temporarily reduced streetside parking. The first phase is expected to be done by May 2025, with visitors still having access to shops, services, restaurants, and residences.

On October 1st, to encourage new and returning shoppers to visit the downtown area and support local businesses and services during construction, the City of Nanaimo elected to temporarily offer free on-street parking. The free two-hour parking applies to surface street parking spots on Commercial Street (south of Wharf Street), Front Street, Chapel Street, Church Street, Bastion Street, Anchor Way and Cameron Road. The free parking does not apply to the City-owned parkades or parking lots in the downtown area.

At a city council meeting on Monday, October 21, Councillor Hilary Eastmure, made a motion for city staff to make a report on options to provide two-hour free parking within City-owned parkades during the redesign.

“So earlier, the council had approved free parking on Commercial Street, but the fact is that really only opened up to 23 spots on Commercial and a couple on Skinner,” Eastmure said. “So in speaking to downtown business owners, it hasn't really made much of it done in their ability to say that there is free available parking downtown.”

She said she wants to start the process of looking at expanding the free parking before the holiday shopping season rolls around.

Councillor Ben Geselbracht said the City should be bending over backwards to help support the downtown business while the construction is on. He said he is supportive of having a staff report to find some way to increase the free parking.

“I had an interesting conversation with a business owner, in some places they do parking remittances,” Geselbracht said. “So basically, if you park in the parkade and you go downtown to a downtown shop, and you buy something, you can get your parking back and that would be an interesting link.”

Councillor Ian Thorpe said he is in favour of the new staff report as long as it won’t be too labour-intensive for staff to come back with. Thorpe added if council is interested in looking at downtown parking it also looks at the need for more parking in the area.

“I'm really encouraged by the fact that council is interested in the issue of parking and the need for parking and the need for parking in our downtown. I would love to see the report include options for increasing parking options downtown, such as expanding the Bastion Street parkade, but I suspect that would not be considered a friendly amendment, so I won't bother going there today,” Thorpe said. “However, I think it is a topic that we need to consider; parking is crucial to getting people into our downtown.”

Mayor of Nanaimo, Leonard Krog said while he will vote in favour of the motion, a report about expanding the free parking had already been made earlier. He said that report found there would be significant complexities that would limit providing free parking in the City-owned parkades.

“I would be less than honest if I didn't say I'm somewhat disappointed given the information we received earlier that council wants to go back and revisit this when that information was largely available,” Krog said.

Both Geselbracht and Eastmure responded back to Krog saying while the old report found challenges with those who already pay monthly for their parking spot in the parkades, a new report could look at ideas that would reduce the challenges.

“At the time, staff had said that it would be possible to make something work in the parkades, but it would require some signage and appropriate management of the spaces. They, at the time, suggested that that could come to council in the future, if we heard from business owners that offering the free parking on the street was not having much of an impact,” Eastmure said. “So given that we have had some time since that original decision, and I have spent a lot of time downtown speaking to people about the spaces that are open, I think this is appropriate.” 

The motion to direct staff to prepare a report on options to provide two-hour free parking within City-owned parkades passed unanimously.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.