Councillor Gilbert Wall didn鈥檛 mince words when he criticized Parks Canada for approving a development proposal that would have allowed up to five vehicles to park on the property in front of the Jasper Downtown Hostel.
鈥淚t鈥檚 staggering how poorly planned this is,鈥� said Wall, during a council meeting on April 4.
鈥淭he fact that they鈥檙e allowed to have a development that requires 18 parking stalls and only providing four on site that really meet the definition of a real parking stall is absolutely ludicrous.鈥�
Parking in and around the hostel, which is located on the corner of Patricia Street and Pyramid Lake Road, has become a major issue for both the owners and residents in the area.
In August, the hostel told the Planning and Development Advisory Committee (PDAC), that it wanted to expand its facilities by adding 32 new beds for a total of 60. The request also included adding a lounge, guest kitchen, lobby and two bedrooms for staff accommodation.
As part of its proposal, the hostel asked to add four more parking stalls, significantly fewer than Parks Canada鈥檚 regulations call for.
According to the rules, the hostel is supposed to have one parking spot for every four beds, however the owners told PDAC they didn鈥檛 need that many parking spots because a lot of their guests arrive by bus or other forms of transportation.
In November, Parks Canada approved PDAC鈥檚 recommendation, which required the hostel to provide 12 more parking stalls to meet its development requirements for a total of 18.
Nine of those parking stalls were originally supposed to be located on the hostel鈥檚 property, with four stalls located in the back and five stalls in the front, including three 鈥渟ub-standard鈥� stalls and a tandem stall. The other nine stalls were paid for in 2015 and 2016 to the parking authority in lieu of an actual stall.
Businesses must pay into the fund when their on-site parking requirements can鈥檛 be met. Those funds are then used to create more parking in town.
Despite receiving Parks Canada鈥檚 approval, administration rejected the hostel鈥檚 parking proposal arguing that the five stalls in front of the building would require vehicles to frequently cross one of the town鈥檚 busiest sidewalks.
鈥淚f you drove a Suburban from the airport and you鈥檙e parking in front of that building you鈥檙e going to have four feet of your Suburban on our sidewalk,鈥� said Wall.
鈥淢y thought right now is to throw it right back at Parks and say 鈥榝ind a solution.鈥欌��
Steve Young, a communications officer for Parks Canada, tried to down play the rift between Parks Canada and the municipality.
鈥淧arks Canada values its strong working relationship with the municipality of Jasper. Jasper National Park and the municipality of Jasper will continue their efforts to work together for the community as a whole,鈥� Young wrote, acknowledging the municipality鈥檚 safety concerns with the proposal that was originally approved.
To try and resolve the issue, Fercho proposed expanding the parking lot on Patricia Street, across from the Visitor Information Centre and designating three of the parking stalls specifically for the hostel for a determined period of time and price. The other two spots would be paid for in lieu of a parking stall.
He stressed several times during the meeting that expanding the parking lot and possibly designating three parking spots were two separate and distinct decisions and are not dependent on each other.
If council decides not to designate three parking stalls for the hostel the issue will have to go back to PDAC for approval.
The proposal to designate three stalls didn鈥檛 sit well with most councillors.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 like the idea of designated stalls unless it鈥檚 open to all businesses, so I鈥檓 inclined to say let it go back to PDAC,鈥� said Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey.
Mayor Richard Ireland also chimed in, adding that he would be more comfortable if the hostel kept the four parking stalls at the back of the building and paid the parking authority for the rest.
Fercho agreed that would be easiest way to resolve the issue, but said it could lead to more parking pressure in the area and would have to go back to PDAC.
Coun. Dwain Wacko said the whole process raised a lot of questions.
鈥淚 continue to be trouble by this. How did this get to five stalls at the front, which we determined are not acceptable?鈥�
In response, Fercho said he simply didn鈥檛 catch it before it was approved.
鈥淚n this case I was copied on it, as I am with everything that comes through PDAC, but I wasn鈥檛 alerted to that until it came back as an approved item that needed to be dealt with through operations.鈥�
Fercho said to avoid it happening again the municipality has changed the process so that it will be alerted whenever a proposal could have an impact on municipal property.
Carlos Rodriguez, co-owner of the hostel, said he understood why council wouldn鈥檛 like the idea.
鈥淢ark came up with an idea and I thought it was good and I was willing to pay more money, but if it鈥檚 turned down I鈥檓 ok with that too,鈥� Rodriguez said, acknowledging it would set a precedent for other businesses in town.
鈥淓ither way, I have to pay them.鈥�
Currently in Banff it costs $30 per day for a parking spot, which equates to $900 per month or $10,800 a year, said Fercho. He proposed the hostel pay $10,000 per stall.
The second part of the notice put before council included adding up to 14 new parking spots in the parking lot on Patricia Street, across from the info centre.
If approved, the project is expected to cost approximately $210,000, which will come from the parking authority鈥檚 restricted reserve fund. Currently there is about $251,000 in the fund.
鈥淏ased on staff鈥檚 information and a review of areas that are available to create parking in town this is one of those easy wins,鈥� said Fercho, adding there is also the possibility of installing two electric car charging stations.
Just before wrapping up the discussion, Coun. Wall said the entire fiasco should be a wake up call and that it鈥檚 time to start charging people for parking.
鈥淭his whole dance we鈥檙e doing around parking stalls is predicated on the high value of parking stalls in the downtown. It鈥檚 time the municipality accepts that and starts charging for the privilege of parking not only for these three designated stalls, but stalls in general,鈥� said Wall.
Fercho said the idea would be included in the town鈥檚 transportation study, which is expected to be completed in the fall.
Council will make a final decision on both issues on April 18.
Paul Clarke
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