Now that’s a study we can get behind.
The City of Duncan is going to put together a comprehensive look at parking in the urban area, and we say it’s about time.
The last study was done in 2003, and there has been significant infilling since then, with more businesses and residences going in around town.
This has been a good thing. There’s been a significant increase in density in the urban core, with multi-unit buildings bringing people in to live downtown. This is what any city wants. The great suburban migration drained many cities to the point of crumbling, with little left downtown except the people and shops that couldn’t afford to move out to the (usually) more affluent suburbs.
But that trend has been reversing in the last couple of decades, with downtowns becoming trendy once again, and desirable places to live. As people move in, shops move in to provide them with goods and services. It really is a win-win.
But one of the big stumbling blocks is always parking. For the most part, downtowns tend to be on the older side, with houses and such often not built with a garage or, in some cases, even any kind of a driveway. Multi-unit buildings rarely have enough off-street parking for every resident. Remember that it’s not uncommon now for families to have two or three vehicles.
Duncan actually isn’t as badly off as some cities when it comes to places to park your car. There are pay lots, along with a fairly decent number of free spots. But it could always be better, and we see it only getting more congested as time goes on. Just look at the number of condo buildings that have opened in the last two years.
As much as we’d like to see people move more towards heading to town on public transit, the current reality is that most people drive. We need to make sure the city stays a welcoming place to come.