Residents of Harrison Hot Springs got their first glimpse at a comprehensive parking plan for the village last week.
Village officials have long faced the dilemma of parking in a tourist town, balancing resident and visitor needs among other factors. The Sept. 23 Zoom meeting was the first of two planned information sessions on the village’s 2021 Parking Master Plan, the second slated for later this month.
The village houses 2,566 parking spaces, 2,256 of which are on-street spots. Pay parking is in effect from May 15 to Sept. 15 in select waterfront spots in the village. Demand peaks during the weekends at around 4 p.m.
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There are a number of suggestions for improvement, including an updated parking map, wayfinding signage and apps and signage with real-time parking data. Other improvements could include more accessible parking and spaces for electric vehicles and bicycles.
The immediate next steps would be to examine future supply and demand, consider improvements and prepare for the second phase of public consultation.
After the two information sessions, the analysis phase will begin in October, in which contributions from the survey and the information sessions will be reviewed; the project team will compile key findings. After analysis comes the preliminary recommendations, which are planned for November, when the study findings are presented to Village Council in a draft report.
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If all goes as planned, the final report would be complete by December.
IBI group is spearheading the parking study. The Village of Harrison awarded the $30,000 parking study contract to IBI during the July 27 council meeting.
An online survey on the parking study and future plans closes on Oct. 1. This 18-question survey addresses a number of potential improvements, including the priority of possible improvements, assessment of current conditions and more. Those who participate in the online survey can be entered to win a set of telecscoping hiking sticks.
More information is available online at getintoitharrison.ca.
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