Editor:
I do not know if anyone has ever collected actual data on available parking spaces for the White Rock waterfront at various times of the day and various days of the week.
I have only heard anecdotal evidence from various sources.
I took photos of West Beach parking lots, on Tuesday, Aug. 8 at about 3 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 12 at about 5:30 p.m.
I am aware that this is a small snapshot and the situation may vary from time to time – and that it may vary a great deal on special occasions, e.g. the Snowbirds flyover on Aug. 16.
As you can see, during the weekday, there were many vacant spaces between Bay and Oxford streets, there were also some west of Oxford toward the museum. The lots adjacent to the pier were pretty much full.
The lot at Victoria Avenue and Vidal Street had some spaces, and the lot under the Montecito was about 95 per cent empty.
On Saturday night, the lots closest to the pier were virtually full. But in the lots between Bay and Vidal streets, there were about 100 vacant spaces – including those in the underground lot at the Montecito. In addition, there were vacant street-parking spaces on Marine Drive.
At East Beach, the public parking was pretty well full on Tuesday afternoon, but the First Nation lot behind the Washington Avenue Grill was about 85 per cent empty.
Are these photos indicative of the parking crisis we are supposedly experiencing (Parkade moves to hearing, July 26)?
Perhaps we need a second look at this issue.
Mary McArthur, White Rock
