A temporary municipal parking lot near Orillia’s waterfront will be closed for the winter later this week.
The lot was opened in June to “provide a temporary solution for parking in the waterfront area due to the ongoing construction along Centennial Drive,” notes a memo to city councillors from Lisa Kean, the city’s manager of parking and transit.
The lot opened with 99 metered parking spaces and three accessible parking spaces that were available between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. at a rate of $3/hour with an eight-hour time limit.
In July, council implemented 50 permit spaces at the lot with two separate rates: a $70/month rate to be used by individuals (ie. employees) and a transferable permit at a rate of $200/month that could be purchased by nearby businesses with the intention they would provide free parking to their customers.
Permits were made available for parking until Nov. 15.
“Should the parking demand warrant for Lot 15 to be operational during the winter months, further cost-analysis will be done to determine the viability of maintaining Lot 15 beyond Nov. 15, 2023,” noted a July memo to city councillors.
According to the staff report, the use of this lot has “significantly decreased and is anticipated to continue to decrease as winter approaches.”
The estimated cost to provide winter maintenance in Lot 15 is $10,500.
“The cost to provide winter maintenance is anticipated to substantially exceed the revenue that would be brought in by keeping the lot open through the winter months,” noted the staff report.
It goes on to note the lot was constructed with a gravel surface.
“Clearing snow over a gravel surface is suboptimal,” notes the memo from Kean. “It would require additional maintenance in spring to replenish the gravel surface that was displaced during plowing and there would be additional negative impacts related to frost impacts in the soils that occur when a gravel lot is plowed.”
As a result, the decision was made to close the lot.
Staff will install barricades that prevent the usage of the lot during the winter months and the barricades will be removed on April 15, 2024, to allow for hourly and monthly permit usage during the spring, summer, and fall months in 2024.
“Additionally, a sign will be placed at the entrance to notify patrons that the lot will be closed for the winter season,” said Kean.
The lot will be closed Wednesday.
