Where to park — and where not to — at the Canada Games

Belinda Montigny is excited about volunteering at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. She signed up months ago, and recently got her schedule and a jacket to wear during her shifts.

The only thing left at this point is to figure out where she's going to park.

"That's the worry in my mind," she said. "I'm going to be taking my own car just because sometimes I'm there till 10 at night.... I really don't want to depend on the bus system late at night, so I'm just hoping that I'm able to figure out parking when I get there."

Montigny plans to arrive up to an hour early in some cases to get a parking spot close to Charlottetown's Eastlink Centre.

"If I have to walk a bit, I'll walk a bit," she said.  

There's no designated volunteer parking for the Games, something Montigny says would save her time.

"I'm not sure the reasoning that they didn't set it aside," she said. "It would be comforting to know that there's going to be parking where you don't have to worry about travelling an hour earlier, an hour and a half."

Take the bus

But Canada Games officials say there shouldn't be too many problems. Paul Power is vice-president of transportation and logistics for the Games.

He said athletes will not contribute to parking numbers, as they will be driven around in 45 buses that are usually in use by the Public Schools Branch. Athletes travelling longer distances, like to Crabbe Mountain or Halifax, will use Maritime Bus or Coach Atlantic vehicles.

And volunteer drivers will be shuttling VIP guests around in another 68 vehicles.

"But as far as the spectators and anyone that just wants to come out and see some of the Games, we're encouraging them to make use of public transit and try and carpool the best they can — because parking is going to be a bit of an issue at some of the facilities."

Power said the largest hiccup with parking could be in Brookvale at the Mark Arendz Provincial Ski Park.

"They do have a new parking lot out there," he said. "But we're anticipating that the skiing will be a very popular event with some extra bodies around and so parking will be a bit of a challenge for that facility for sure."

Tickets and towing

In Charlottetown, venues include the MacLauchlan Arena and the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre at UPEI. The university has released a detailed list (see external link below) of which parking lots are available for students, and which are only for Games attendees.

Further downtown, the Eastlink Centre on Kensington Road is expected to be busy with both the opening and closing ceremonies.

"Eastlink will definitely be one of the more busier facilities, and parking will be a bit of a concern there," said Power. "But I mean we're used to hosting big, big events with hundreds and thousands of spectators … and we'll make it work."

Const. Dale Johnson is the traffic and special events co-ordinator with Charlottetown Police. He recommends using underground parking or streets throughout the city, because there will not be special rules in place during the Canada Games.

"If they're on Kensington Road by the Eastlink Centre blocking traffic where there's no parking, then they can be ticketed — and if it's blocking traffic, probably towed."

Business as usual

Johnson said traffic enforcement will be on patrol as usual, and the winter snow parking ban will still be in effect.

"We still have to follow all the same rules as usual," he said. "Otherwise we end up with a whole mess of cars all in one area and that's going to cause traffic issues."

During the two weeks of the Games, volunteers and officials will be able to take T3 Transit for free, something Power said should also help.

There will also be a shuttle from the Charlottetown Events Grounds and park-and-ride location to the IllumiNATION Festival at the Port of Charlottetown.

Johnson said there may be police officers at intersections near the Eastlink Centre to help with traffic flow, but otherwise it'll be business as usual for Charlottetown police.

"It's two weeks, there's going to be a lot of visitors here from out of province," he says. "Be patient … and just be mindful of the signs and out-of-province licence plates."