Moncton's new downtown centre requires new way to think about parking

People attending events at Moncton's downtown centre will have to look at parking in a different way and plan ahead, says Alcide Richard, director of design and construction with the City of Moncton. 

The Transportation Dispersal Plan, which was presented to city council this week, says the city already has enough parking and transportation to allow 10,000 people to visit the downtown at night.

There are 4,000 parking spots available within a 15-minute walk of the centre. Near the centre, there will be 24 accessible parking spaces.

Between the parking spots, public transit and other modes, there is enough parking, city hall says.

"It's no different than 20,000 people coming downtown every day to work," Richard said Wednesday. "It's no different than 100,000 people attending the Santa Claus Parade. People will figure this out."

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Kevin Silliker, director of economic development, said the dispersal plan, developed by IBI Group Professional Services (Canada) Inc. and Crandall Engineering Ltd., gathered input from downtown stakeholders and the public.

"Landowners, property owners, tenants, different associations such as DMCI so there was a broad spectrum of private sector partners that all had input into the plan and over a multiple series of consultations as well," said Silliker. 

"Dispersed parking has been a very intentional plan of the city for a very long time, even going back as far as the 2010 mayor's task force.

Push and move

Sillker said it was always proposed that the city would have a dispersed parking plan to "push people and move people throughout the downtown with the goal of downtown restoration and revitalization in mind." 

The 4,000 parking spots identified in the report include spots in private parking lots and city-owned lots and on streets. 

"We don't think it's going to be an issue to reach that goal."

​Richard said whether the city has enough parking spots for downtown visitors is a non-issue.

"It's no different than what happens in Halifax. It's no different than what happens at [Saint John's] Harbour Station, although there is some parking there."

Silliker said each event at the centre is unique and will have a different plan and roll out.

"If we get into events where there's a lot of daytime demand, then we look at options in there." 

He added the dispersal plan provides many options over may types of events and at different times of the day and the season.

"What we have is a road map. There's a lot of work left to do in the next 12 to 15 months and a lot of details to look at."