Parking in Kelowna

[voice of reason]

this vision that the eggheads at the planning department have for kelowna wont be possible until kelowna puts in to place the proper infrastructure required to live in a city with limited vehicle traffic. they need to build more parkades and parking lots not less. they need to improve the transit system greatly before it is even a viable option for working stiffs to take the bus. i dont know how many times i have worked with people who needed to show up half hour late because that is when the bus gets there or leave a half hour early.when i was working out at reids corner my boss wouldnt even hire bus riders because it was too much of a hassle . they say ride a bike and build bike paths everywhere in this town but the second you take your eyes off your bike some crackheads have it down by the creek giving it a new paint job. all this big city planning sounds great but we are far from living in a big city here .if you can live in a downtown building and walk to your interior health job or city hall job then good for you. 99% of our city can not do so

[alanjh595]

Riding a bike up to my usual fishing spots could be a hell of a challenge. especially if one wants to actually fish on the same day.

As well as try to tow a boat behind a bike! lol
Deleted for brevity

Not only that, where is someone going to store their boat? I guess with all the money that would be saved by not owning a car, could be used to rent a slip at the yacht club? Oh wait, they are already full at the docks.......such a dilemma. AND parking a 12 ft fishing boat in a marina..........Oh, never mind....

Give up the car, you also give up fishing, golfing, traveling to another city for visiting family members, camping, grocery shopping for greater $$ than the bicycle can carry ($60.00+), etc, etc.......

[casey60]

This fellow Smith is a pipe dreamer. If Basran was doing his job, he be questioning Smith where he is coming from with his ideas. Unfortunately mayor and council close to blindly rubber stamps what ever staff suggests.

[one wheel]

Since the Rogers Pass & the Coquihalla opened Kelowna completely changed & has never stopped growing.

The growth problems weren't addressed years ago nor are they being looked at now ?

When Ryan Smith says planners look 30 to 40 years ahead just where were those people in 1970 ?

How will the huge sized developments being planned such as the Upper Mission get into town without any roadways, because the present 3 roads are extremely busy now ?

Where do caregivers & maintenance vehicles park because they won't be riding bicycles ?

[the truth]

This city staffers pipe dream of cycle every bs doesn’t work here

Can't ride a bike everywhere if it keeps getting stolen!

sadly are city leaders do not think this is a problem.

[lesliepaul]

Ryan Smith

Divisional Director of Planning and Development Services at City of Kelowna
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada500+ connections
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City of Kelowna
Simon Fraser University


About
Passionate about the planning, design and the implementation of great urban spaces that are pedestrian and bicycle friendly. I love to travel and my favorite cities are Amsterdam, San Francisco and Bend, Oregon. Born and raised in Vancouver before relocating to Kelowna in 2002. I'm a second generation Urban Planner. I'm a firm believer that planners and the planning profession need to improve at engaging with and communicating to communities. As a former competitive mountain biker and road cyclist, I'm a big cycling advocate and love the opportunity to share this passion with youth and newcomers to the world of cycling.

This pretty much sums up what this idiot is all about..........."his passion" is about seeing what he can get away with jamming his utopian vision down taxpayers throats.

I suggest he get on the next train out of town.......oh, wait.......that option left decades ago. He should then get on the next bus out of town.........wait........that option is gone also. Looks like he'll be loading up that mountain bike for the trip to nirvana.

[Mrmarvingardens]

Leslie Paul lets us know where Kelowna's Planner head is at:
A competive biker, Loves Amsterdam, where they actually know how to design bike lanes, San Francisco, and Bend Oregon. Wow. Let me think. 65 percent of Kelowna's population is over 65..Next we will have a bike racing track for seniors.
So, I have a question: why is it not possible for the planning department to design bike lanes that make sense
We had the stretch on Ethel to Sutherland functional and attractive.Then things went to hell, on Sutherland... Curbs, obstacle signs every 1 hundred feet, 2 lanes for bicycles.OH check the intersection.(Sutherland and Ethel) traffic lights for vehicles, traffic lights for bikes; arrows for this, arrows for that.It gets worse.The next section, Ethel to Rose and beyond.....another design change.Blocks of concrete at Glenwood...what a mess.Interesting, New York city has bike lanes where autos and bikes co exist no curbs, ribbon blocks of concrete and confusing signs.They get along just fine.
Then we have another misfortune, and lack of planning.Trying to convert old fixtures to L.E.D. street lighting.The lighting mostly lights the sky. We will leave that discussion for another time

[llemieux34]

I purchased a condo downtown without a parking spot and at the time there seemed to be plenty of street parking but this is no longer the case as most buildings in the downtown core are not taking into consideration that less parking in their buildings is creating a greater problem and City officials are adding to the dilemma by not offering a solution. Infrastructure and parking have been concerns with this city for years so what is being done?

[llemieux34]

Sadly, being new to Kelowna, she did not realize that jobs downtown aren’t exactly easy to find, and the transit here will never progress as long as the car is seen as a badge of prosperity here. She’s stuck.

She is stuck but thanks to her own foolishness. Perhaps she should have found a job first and then considered what transportation needs she has, instead of purchasing a condo marketed as having no parking space, and then assuming she could easily find public parking, in a location with an arena, casino, and multiple other high rises whose visitors are also looking for parking.

Talk about buying without doing her due diligence!

As another member already said, she should sell her place and buy one with parking, rather than complaining.

In cases such as this I don't blame the city, as there is a demand for condos without parking stalls, but similar to other examples in Kelowna, where there are more units than parking spaces, there are those who feel they can buy a cheaper unit with no parking, knowing they own a car, after which they turn around and gripe about lack of parking.

No sympathy whatsoever for such idiots.

This is not just about me and making a bad decision but it is about all the new businesses opening up downtown with no parking for their clients and other buildings going up with less parking because not everyone deserves to have a vehicle especially if you are buying a studio condo.

[cv23]

And Council just announced the annual summer closing of Bernard to vehicle traffic and parking. Just how is eliminating potential customer parking going to benefit the Bernard merchants?

Also how can City staff be in favor of the new Costco? Staff, specifically the head planner, wants to basically eliminate cars and anything to do with them in favor of pedestrian, cycle and public transit in Kelowna yet look at the size of the parking lot at the proposed new Costco and God forbid the new location will also include a vehicle gas bar. Didn't staff try and turn down a Timmies drive thru and other drive thrus in the city, because in their/his wee minds they promote vehicle use? A mammoth parking lot and vehicle gas bar promote use of vehicles not discourages it so how can Mr Smith and staff suggest anything but total rejection of the new Costco proposal?

[ol goat]

The city council has reduced the size limits of delivery trucks to the downtown core to deliver anything. And with the reduced amount of parking, double parking quite often happens after you have driven around the block a couple of times. This only increases with the summer time traffic. People are ordering more on line, making the need for more trucks to deliver your stuff.
Stores and offices require larger loads to supply what they need to operate and parking in back alleys can be tricky at best and it's not uncommon to get trapped there waiting for another delivery truck to get done. Bylaws are always after us to move along or get ticketed. Yes I agree that moving towards a greener environment is necessary but they need to have the pieces in place first. Even on my off days I will not go downtown for any reason unless I have to.

[one wheel]

I see exactly opposite things being done by Kelowna staff ? The planning department keeps lowering the number of parking stalls required in new developments because they envision everyone will ride a bicycle or use transit which would eliminate cars ?
Meanwhile we are being saturated with new car washes ?

Our planners need to stop dreaming that cars are going away because there're not ?

[stuphoto]

Meanwhile we are being saturated with new car washes ?

I have seen some people camping in their cars in some of these 24 hour car washes.
Several days straight at times

I have never seen them doing any harm so I don't see anything wrong with it.

[cv23]

How can this be?
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... hip#316990

Staff have indicated support for the application, stating its consistency with a majority of OCP and urban design guidelines

Staff backs something in line with the OCP??
Staff approves a source for more cars on local roads? Ryan Smith are you losing control of your minions?

Where are these potential new Kelowna car owners going to park their new purchases? It would only make sense for Mr Smith and his staff to oppose an additional source of not only cars on our streets but also a source of further parking issues by rather seeing Kelowna get more bike paths and public transit. They tried to turn down a Timmies drive thru at a gas station because they don't want Kelownaites to be car centric yet approve another source of exactly what they claim is the problem.

[the truth]

do not ask the hard questions