Prince George city council received a report following the Notice of Motion that was passed on June 12 regarding a review of the parking in the downtown C1 zone and around the hospital.
Council approved staff launching a request for proposal (RFP) process to retain consulting services to assess the existing strategy and provide guidance in developing better parking experiences. Some key components proposed for the review:
- Community engagement: Gathering input from residents and business owners.
- Business case evaluation: Assessing the viability of each City-owned parkade.
- Parking inventory: Compiling a detailed inventory of downtown parking spaces.
The plan is for a presentation of a modernized downtown parking strategy to Council to take place in spring 2025, with the implementation of the short-term recommendations in fall 2025.
To address on-street parking challenges near the hospital, the following measures were recommended:
- Maintaining free parking: Two-hour free parking will continue in areas immediately surrounding medical facilities impacted by construction, including UHNBC, the Northern Interior Health Unit, and several others.
- Introducing pay parking: Remaining streets in the Hospital Zone will adopt pay parking via the HotSpot application. Beyond the two-hour free period, parking will cost $1/hour or $7 for the entire day, aligning with city-wide rates.
A map of the changes around the hospital shows the two hour free parking zones and the new hotspot paid parking zones.