Parking Around LRT Stations
I’ve been hearing more and more frustration with parking around the LRT: both the shortage of convenient places to park for riders, and neighbouring community concern with so-called ‘parasitic parking’ plugging up nearby residential streets.
We filmed a short video with my thoughts on some considerations and possible next steps for Park and Ride:
The city stands ready to assist neighbourhoods with implementing residential parking restrictions if they are desired. Restrictions have gone in near 76 Ave, they are being implemented in Malmo just West of Southgate station, and they are being contemplated in Parkallen to the east of South Campus and in Blue Quill to the west of Century Park station.
So the good news is people want to use the LRT. The bad news is a lot of folks are driving to get to it. As suggested in the video, we need better bus feeder service to help commuters access LRT without needing their cars.
We will also eventually need a larger permanent lot to the south near the Henday to take up some of the regional and suburban demand where bus service is poor or nonexistent.
Most people don’t realize that the city still owns the land for a parkade in the northwest corner of Century Park. However, if we’re going to build a parkade at Century Park (or anywhere else for that matter) I think riders will have to come to terms with paying something for the privilege of parking in a parking stall that costs $30,000 or more to construct.
The Parking Membership pilot program, which I support, is a start toward this. It calls for 18% of the stalls to be set aside for people who buy the roughly $40/month membership. I believe if will be oversold on day one. This program will be debated by the next council as part of the 2011 budget deliberations for implementation in the new year. Charging a modest fee will also help manage demand by sending a price signal to those who could walk or take a connecting bus or carpool with others to the park and ride to make a more cost effective choice.
So we have work to do in the short term and long term to deal with the impacts of high-demand LRT service.
Not to mention, sidewalks and adequate lighting for walking home from the LRT into the surrounding neighbourhoods would do a lot to alleviate parking snarls.
Go, Don!
Thanks for this, Don. I support everything you mentioned in the blog and the video. As a resident of “East Malmo”, I am about to benefit from the new parking restriction program being implemented in our neighbourhood. While I have mixed feelings about this, as I am far enough away from the station not to be affected by it, I understand the need to support others in my area who are experiencing “parasitic” parking problems. I see those cars as I walk to the station. I look forward to further expansion of the LRT, which will help relieve some of the pressures.
Best wishes for your re-election. You have my vote.
.: Hi Don. Good video, and I agree with what you are trying to do. I live close enough to walk to the LRT station, and if it is raining hard, or when it gets very cold, I will need to take a bus to get there.
The LRT has been a success, but I remain concerned that there are too many days when I board the train at Century Park, and by the time it leaves, it is already Standing Room Only. The sooner we can get five cars running, the better. I know the City is working towards that solution.
Thanks for continuing to fight the good fight for us. And I still haven’t met you at my door – I hope the next time you are in Skyrattler, I’m at home when you come knocking.
Kind regards,
Randy Reichardt
Don,
Thanks for taking this on. Malmo is a great neighborhood. Lets keep it that way.
Brice
What are the parking restrictions you mentioned that have gone in around 76 Ave? Where are these restrictions?
I notice when anyone talks about transit, there is rarely any mention of DATS. While I use transit in the warmer – read snow free – months, in the winter I have to use DATS.
Unfortunately my experience with DATS is rather hit and miss – some trips good, some trips not very good at all.
I am also miffed that we have to wait up to 30 minutes for DATS while they only wait 5 minutes for us. This makes appointments of any kind – especially Doctors – fraught with worry and anxiety.
Is there any plans to work on the DATS system at all? add more vehicles to shorten wait times? find more good drivers? what ever might increase the good trips.
Thanks
Thanks for your comment, Mary Ann. DATS is an important part of the Transit network.
The DATS dispatching system was changed about a year and a half ago and initially did present some challenges with long trips and late or missed pickups. I understand performance has improved recently but if more can be done I would be glad to see improved efficiency and better experience for patrons.
I’ve spoken with both users and drivers who’ve had good suggestions for how dispatch can be further improved. We’ve also had ongoing input from Council’s Advisory Board for Persons With Disabilities who are monitoring the progress on this at ETS.
I meant the limited 2-hour on-stree parking (unless you have a resident permit) in the adjacent neighbourhoods.
The visitor parking spaces adjacent to my building at Century Park are complete full during the workday because of the Century Park station, and my legitimate visitors often have nowhere to park because of this.
Re parking on 76 Ave by 114 St – since the opening of the LRT station, there are always cars parked there during the day, and I am pretty sure they are not adhering to the 2-hour limit. Of course, the city seldom checks vehicles in our community (McKernan), so they are able to get away with it. Perhaps Bylaw persons might check more often; not that the idea is to give out tickets, but hey, the City would probably make a mint off those who don’t seem to care about residents parking by their homes, so they can park and use the LRT.
Interesting to hear Parkallen is being considered for restricted parking (I’m a resident). Though parking in general has been congested lately from the neighbourhood renewal road closers, I can’t say I though this was because of LRT users. I’ve actually always thought the South Campus station is quite distant and removed from us, with a rather risky crosswalk on 113th to get to it.
If this is the case though, I’d personally support improved bus feeders / park and ride facilities over simply cutting off access and ignoring the root problem. I think if people need to park in neighbourhoods, then better access should to be developed for these people so they don’t have to. It’s a shame the costs of a century park parkade are so prohibitive. I have many south-side friends who still have to drive to the university or downtown because parking at century park is always full and their neighbourhoods have no bus service.
This is an older post, but the issues remain here in 2012. I take the LRT for part of my morning commute and parking is stressful.
Not everyone can take transit to the LRT – easily, I mean. I need to take my children to daycare before heading to work. If I took transit for my entire commute (to daycare and then to the LRT) it would add an unreasonable amount of travel time going back and forth with buses. We already leave the house at 7:15 am.
The Blue Quill neighbourhood near the LRT now has neighbourhood parking restrictions. When I have passed by lately, I notice that the streets are empty. Yes, empty. Where are all the residents who needed that parking? Probably parking in their garages or driveways or at work during the day. This doesn’t make sense to me.
I am a single stay-at-home mom from Terwillegar who is returning to downtown employment next a month. Since the LRT came to the South, always assumed that’s how I would commute. In figuring out my route to ensure that I am at work from 8-4, I found that I have to physically be on the bus in my neighbourhood by 6:59am and the earliest I can get home is 6:02pm. Both times are outside the service hours of my children’s Before and After School Care!!! And that’s on a good day. What about in the winter when the buses are running late?
Ideally, I want to take the transit for my entire commute to avoid the hassle of traffic and parking. Unfortunately, the City isn’t making it easy or feasible. My second choice option is to park at Century Park but from what I understand, that’s not realistic given lack of space. So it looks as if I’m going to be driving downtown every day, dipping further into my already limited budget not to mention adding to urban congestion and unnecessary harm on the environment.
Thanks for your comment, Vicki. I can understand your frustration. In the longer term I would hope the service will become more relevant once the LRT reaches south of the Henday, connecting up a significant park and ride there (advance this video toward the end and you can see what this will look like). The timing for this park and ride is still a bit up in the air over budget but the need is well understood. I’m confident it will go ahead in the next few years and will be connected by express bus service to Century Park, which isn’t a perfect solution but it may help. Full build out of the LRT network will improve its relevance to residents in your area and to the South, and will allow for the construction of larger parking lots at a reasonable cost. Meanwhile, wouldn’t it be nice if there were more childcare options downtown so more of us could commute like the young man in this ETS video.
The only logical extension for the LRT and one that would ease 50-60 percent of the congestion at the Century Park, park and ride is to take it to Millwoods Town Centre. I don’t think it should take a committee, nor ten years of wasted time and municipal tax money to realize this straightforward fact. I feel these days like the city is becoming a great place to live, and I hope our city planners do what they can to keep this positive momentum going.
Take the LRT to Millwoods Town Centre. The LRT and massive use generated daily will pay the connection off within a year at most, not to mention build a solid infrastructure for the future of south Edmonton. Millwoods is coming close to a population of near 120,000 people; it is a city in and of itself within Edmonton, with a major hospital (Grey Nun’s) and many, many businesses that will benefit from an LRT connection, while benefiting our city and economy over all. Why would we not connect the LRT to such a major hub in the city? People often joke that Millwoods could in and of become the third largest city in Alberta, however the bigger joke is that despite the number of residents there is no train connection. Connecting it to the LRT would dramatically decrease traffic on 23rd avenue and other major streets, alleviate the park and ride situation being discussed, and give LRT access to one of the largest populations in the province Alberta. Makes sense to me.
Once again, I got a ticket today for parking at southgate mall to take the train downton. I live in Beaumont and really don’t understand why we have an LRT line in the first place if it is impossible to get to it. Along with my ticket, I also got a note saying my car will be towed if it is spotted at southgate again. This is ridiculous! Beaumont does not have public transit. Century park parking is not even CLOSE to being an option, for many obvious reasons. Yet, Calgary has multiple train stations and park-n-ride lots. I’ve been dealing with this problem for years now and i’ve finally just given up on taking the LRT all together.