Dan Wells is tired of having to run down and plug the meter every day.
Kim Guttormson, Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008
Dan Wells is tired of having to run down and plug the meter every day.
But in a city where waiting lists for downtown parking spots run an average of two years, he didn't have many options -- until he found a new website capitalizing on the lack of available stalls.
"It opens up another avenue for parking opportunities," Wells said of parkingspots.com. "Parking obviously is an issue in Calgary."
The site, based in Toronto and launching in Canadian markets during its first phase, connects those needing a parking spot with those offering one.
"On average, we're getting 10 to 15 requests every week from Calgary," said Aynsley Deluce, who owns the site with her husband.
The site has been up and running for six weeks.
However, they're encountering a familiar problem -- a shortage of spots. So those seeking a place to park, like Wells, have to sign up for an alert service that lets them know if a suitable spot comes online.
"We're trying to build up an inventory of spot owners," Deluce said, adding that most available so far are condo dwellers not using their parking spot during the day.
Last week, she said, they had about 12 sites listed, but only two were showing when the Herald checked.
The City of Calgary limits the number of long-term parking stalls that can be built downtown, to keep a rein on the number of vehicles travelling into the core.
With about 120,000 people working downtown, and a packed transit system, that creates more demand than supply.
The longest wait for a Calgary Parking Authority stall is five years at the James Short location, while the shortest is two years. Monthly prices range from $165 for a spot in a parking lot to $430 for an underground stall.
In Wells's building, if he could access a reserved stall, it would cost him $300 a month, or he could pay $200 for an unreserved spot.
The Calgary Parking Authority's general manager, Dale Fraser, said a site similar to parkingspots.com launched in Calgary last year but encountered limited inventory.
"If it does provide relief and access to parking inventory otherwise not available, Calgarians should be encouraged to explore that," Fraser said.
"Calgarians will have to continue to consider options.
"There are going to be only so many parking spots downtown. Bill Evans, with the Building Owners and Managers Association, said the pool of parking stalls can't ever meet demand, so offering "non-standard" spots such as those in condo buildings could work.
"If residents aren't there during the day, why not rent it out?" he said. "Parking is at an extreme premium."
The parking authority has been concentrating on increasing the amount of short-term parking spaces downtown, and Fraser said the new meter-less system has increased space by about 20 per cent per block. About half the downtown has been converted to the new system.
The ability to pay for the parking using a cellphone has been popular, with 30 per cent of customers opting for that method.
ARTICLE IN CALGARY HERALD, MARCH 10, 2008
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