Penticton City Council are exploring another way of irritating even more Penticton residents and visitors.
To gain some revenue to replace that lost through other council initiatives, paid parking at Okanagan lakeshore and Skaha Lake Park is being considered. Council have been convinced that this bold step will have little or no adverse effects. They do acknowledge that the biggest impact of paid parking will fall on residents rather than visitors to Penticton.
Residents accustomed to parking at either lakeshore for an enjoyable stroll, may in future have to feed a parking machine then keep track of time while enjoying their walk. Residents spending a few hours at the beach will have to have around $5 extra to feed the same machine.
Visitors either used to free parking or just happy to have such a nice option, will certainly view Penticton in a different way. Visitors who actually pay for their parking will not do so happily. Visitors who ignore paid parking requirements have little to be concerned about. Collecting of out of province parking tickets is difficult. Towing offending vehicles will only add to the negative image of Penticton.
It can be argued that the parking fees being considered are comparatively small. But do we really need this relatively small amount of revenue so badly that Penticton is prepared to frustrate residents who already pay through their taxes for the enjoyment of our lakes?
Are we such a tourist magnet that we can afford to upset visitors who in many cases will choose not to pay to park?.
These same visitors upset about an unwelcome travel experience will certainly share this with family and friends.
Hopefully Penticton City Council will decide against this paid parking option because of the obvious negative impact.
John McLeod
Penticton
