District of Squamish has been reviewing locations and costs for a possible parkade in Downtown Squamish, but it is ‘very unlikely” it would be built in the next few years.
“Given current circumstances and costs of building a parkade, it’s very unlikely that the district will be building a parkade in the next couple of years, as it’s competing against all of the other facility and building needs that the community has,” said Gary Buxton, the General Manager of Community Planning and Infrastructure.
Buxton also said the subject of the availability of parking in Downtown Squamish tends to be a ‘bit subjective’.
He said while said some members of the community may feel there are parking issues, others don’t agree.
Buxton said the last time District conducted a parking review was in 2016, which indicated that there wasn’t a supply problem, except at a very limited time.
That study, Buxton said, did note that there were a couple of blocks that were more heavily used than others, but overall there was adequate parking, allowing for the need to walk a block or two to find it.
However, the district may need to repeat this review in the near future to see if things have changed noticeably, he added.
Buxton was responding to a Downtown Squamish business owner, who was frustrated with the lack of parking in downtown.
“Parking downtown is very frustrating as a business owner, and particularly as my clients are often mobility challenged. Clients are often late for appointments and I am parking 2-3 blocks away in residential areas. What is the solution for the downtown businesses?”
According to Buxton, a parkade wouldn’t help the business, if the parkade was located six or seven blocks.
He told the business owner the district does focus on the parking enforcement on downtown to ensure there is available supply of stall turns over within the time limit.
“Our parking staff is in downtown as often as resources allow. This is probably the best option for your mobility affected clients, depending on the particular location of your business and distance from parking lots,” he said.
