Is it just me or does council and those at the city want it all?
I am talking about continuing to hold events in the downtown core as well as a desire to attract new businesses to this area. The complaint is that there are too many professional businesses downtown but there is a reason for that. Most professional businesses are not open on weekends and are therefore unaffected by events such as the farmers' market and the last day of the children's festival (a Saturday).
Events like these are 'destination events' and people are going downtown for these only, and are not supporting the local businesses. During the children's festival, which is a great event, there is absolutely zero parking in the downtown, leading to people parking illegally and subjecting themselves to tickets from bylaw enforcement. What kind of message does this send when there is not ample parking to attend the event or patronize a local business and you're also risking heading home with a $40 to $60 ticket? Never mind the loss of business to the local stores/offices whose customers or clients cannot find parking (illegal or not) and eventually give up in frustration.
This is why there is such a struggle to attract new business. Add up the week of the children's festival and all the Saturdays of the farmers' market and that is a significant potential loss of income, a risk many small businesses cannot afford. Most new business owners, who may be interested in locating in the downtown core, are going to do their research and lack of parking and the subsequent loss of business is surely going to factor in their decision.
Why can't events like the children's festival and even the farmers' market not be moved to Servus Credit Union Place? This facility did not exist until a few years ago but would solve all the problems. Again, the children's festival and even the farmers' market are 'destination events' so people drive or are bused in anyway. As well, there would be ample parking, washroom facilities, spacious grounds and indoor facilities, and what better way to promote what many feel is an under-used facility. How is this not a win-win unless the city is depending on the revenue from the bylaw parking tickets.
In my humble opinion, the children's festival simply seems to have outgrown its current venue and there needs to be some discussion about moving it. Council and the city need to address the downtown parking and event placement issues or forget about attracting new businesses, they may struggle to retain the current ones.
Doug Musey, St. Albert
