New paid parking system sparks concerns for businesses in Old Strathcona

Emilie Rubayita · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Some businesses are acrophobic that the City of Edmonton's changes to the parking strategy astatine the Old Strathcona Farmers' Market (OSFM) volition interaction their operations. 

Free two-hour parking at 83rd Avenue and Gateway Boulevard batch connected Saturdays volition beryllium nary more, arsenic the City is acceptable to instrumentality implicit the lot's absorption staring April 6.

The marketplace has leased the parking batch from the City for the past 40 years, which allowed it to supply parking to visitors, on with discounted parking for different businesses astir the area.

In June 2023, metropolis councillors voted to not renew the lease.

Farmers' marketplace patrons — and anyone parking determination immoderate different time of the week — will person to pay $2.50 per hour, with antithetic maximums depending connected the clip of day. 

No EPark machines volition beryllium installed there, truthful each drivers volition person to wage with an app oregon online. 

WATCH | What lies up for the parking batch adjacent the OSFM? 

The City said the alteration is portion of its Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy, aimed astatine preparing for the aboriginal of the area.

"The modulation of the parking batch backmost to the City enables the City to statesman the aboriginal mentation and scoping towards the semipermanent extremity of establishing a territory park," said the metropolis of Edmonton successful a connection to CBC News. 

"An further parkland volition adhd abstraction for the nationalist visiting Old Strathcona to play, beryllium active, and relax."

Micaela Szpigiel, the OSFM communications coordinator, said that though the caller parking interest is comparatively low, it could discourage radical from visiting. 

"Unfortunately, determination are a batch of comments being made of radical not coming to enactment our marketplace due to the fact that of the escaped parking," she said successful an interview.

"But we're hoping that our squad tin truly get the connection retired astir this parking alteration truthful that radical don't get tickets from the metropolis and they tin inactive travel and enactment their favourite section farmers market." 

For the OSFM, it says these parking changes could interaction ft traffic, peculiarly tourer visitors, galore of whom get successful motorhomes.

To assistance mitigate the interaction of the caller parking system, the OSFM is making immoderate changes of its own. 

Starting successful May, the marketplace volition unfastened connected Saturdays and Mondays, and they're exploring the anticipation of opening connected further days during the week. 

It is besides offering immoderate giveaways to assistance customers wage for their parking fees betwixt April and May.

The Varscona Theatre, located conscionable crossed the market, was 1 of those businesses that benefited from the discounted parking offered by the market. 

Kendra Connor, the theatre's enforcement director, said the market's parking has been indispensable for their patrons.  

"We've had a $3 discount for six hours of parking for our customers, which is truly generous," she said.

"It's allowed our patrons to travel spot a show, possibly enactment for drinks oregon dessert afterwards, oregon spell for meal earlier a show." 

Though the hourly complaint volition alteration from $3.15 to $2.50 and the regular complaint volition driblet from $18 to $10, Connor said the power raises concerns astir accessibility for immoderate of their visitors.

"Many of them are older, immoderate of them person mobility needs oregon are disabled," she said. "So their quality to get close, accessible parking is truly important to them coming and enjoying our shows." 

Both the OSFM and the Varscona Theatre expressed their enactment for the wide goals of the Old Strathcona Public Realm Strategy, but they aren't convinced that yet replacing the parking batch with a parkland is the champion solution for the community. 

The Varscona Theatre plans to pass the parking changes to their patrons done societal media, newsletters, to guarantee a creaseless transition, said Connor. 

"Some of our patrons person a hard clip utilizing apps, truthful we'll beryllium connected manus successful the lobby to marque definite that we tin reply immoderate questions and get their parking acceptable up for them," Connor said.

"We conscionable privation to marque it arsenic cleanable and casual and elemental for folks to get to the theatre."

The City says it volition beryllium issuing informing letters first, earlier ticketing starts, but has not determined circumstantial timelines for the grace period. Paid parking volition officially statesman connected April 12.