Five ways the city plans to fix parking problem at Century Park

City council has less than four years to figure out how to deal with the growing demand for parking near the Century Park LRT station before the current park and ride disappears for good.

The city's lease on the popular lot is set to expire in 2020. After that, the lot will be demolished to make way for a development that has been promised near Century Park for more than a decade.

Meanwhile, the park and ride fills up by 7 a.m. weekday mornings, and there are double the number of people hoping to reserve spots as there are spots available.

"I look at this as a problem I knew I'd have to solve when I got into this job," said Coun. Michael Walters, who represents the area. "We have many irons in the fire."

1. Park and pay

The Century Park lot was always intended to be temporary. It was designed as a stop-gap measure until the LRT expands south to Heritage Valley.

To deal with the growing demand for parking in the meantime, council's transportation committee recommended the city charge for 75 per cent of the parking spots on the lot.

City staff initially suggested charging for only half the stalls, and increasing the cost from $40 per month to $50 per month.

"There's no downside, beside the fact that it's going to cost some people a bit more money to park there," said Coun. Michael Oshry, chair of the transportation committee.

"That way it gives some people who pay the assurance that they're going to get a parking spot."

At some point you start to wean people off or say you're going to have to pay for it,- Coun. Scott McKeen

Coun. Scott McKeen said the city has invested millions in transit over the past decade, and it's time to start moving away from free parking.

"At some point you start to wean people off [parking] or say you're going to have to pay for it," McKeen said.

If approved by council, the cost of paying to park and ride downtown every day will be between $140 and $150 per month (including bus pass), compared to $170 to $365 to park downtown.

2. Improve express transit

Coun. Michael Walters said another way to improve the Century Park situation would be to get LRT riders to leave their cars at home.

That will require better transit from their homes, he said, "so that people are walking out of their front door, getting on a bus and going to the LRT to get downtown.

"That's the ideal situation."

The city is working on a review of the entire transit system, which will involve a complete overhaul of the network.

Transit manager Eddie Robar said that review may help take the edge off the demand for parking.

"We're truly looking at what people are seeing in the area, what do they want from a transit service of the future," he said.

That may include express buses to the LRT stations, though consultation isn't finished yet, he said.

Robar said it may be difficult to implement the new transit strategy before the Century Park park and ride disappears.

3. Shuttle to new Park and Ride Lot

So far, the only firm plan to deal with the loss of the Century Park lot involves building a new lot at the site of the future Heritage Valley LRT station.

The new lot will be built at Ellerslie Road and 127th Street, about a 12-minute drive south of the current park and ride.

The city would then provide shuttles from the new lot to Century Park.

The lot is mainly intended to give riders from out of town a place to park, and the city hopes to share the cost with surrounding municipalities.

More information about the future lot will be presented to councillors in December.

4. Create a new lot at Century Park

Drivers north of the current lot may be hesitant to drive to Heritage Valley, Walters said. That's why the city plans to create some new parking spots at Century Park.

"Read my lips, we will build some kind of parking facility on the Century Park site," Walters said.

The city owns a hectare of land directly north of the LRT station at Century Park. That land is currently used as an extension to the park-and-ride lot.

Councillors have asked city staff to look at recommendations to get the maximum use out of that land, perhaps with a parkade or underground lot.

City staff will present those options to council in August.

5. Add a new LRT station

Finally, Walters said part of the problem could be alleviated by simply adding more stations along the Capital Line route.

He said the original concept plan for the south line included a station at Harry Ainlay High School, and the school has been asking for that station for years.

Walters said people would be more likely to walk to that station, and  wouldn't have to drive south to the park and ride to catch the LRT.

"When we see around 30 per cent of the people parking at Century Park coming from the neighbourhoods that would then be able to walk to an LRT station, it certainly makes sense for us to consider that," Walters said.

There are no timelines for the proposed station.