Downtown Sarnia parking is under review as part of a transportation master plan.
There are 500 on-street and 515 public off-street parking spaces.
A 2013 random survey of downtown business owners and staff found 19 of 21 respondents said there is not enough on-street parking to meet demand while 13 of 21 said there is not enough off-street parking.
Planning and Building Director Alan Shaw says an undersupply doesn't support downtown business, while an oversupply lowers the value of the spaces and competes directly with transit use.
"Downtown parking is always a contentious issue," says Shaw. "We are doing this to get public input in a reach-out, to see what their report card is on downtown parking, how they would grade it in respect to parking downtown."
Shaw says they receive input from the public about enforcement in the core area. Some think its too strict while others feel it's too lax.
"We do get a number of concerns about being both too active as opposed to not being enforcement heavy enough, so we see both sides of the spectrum with regards to enforcement in the downtown area," says Shaw.
A public information on downtown parking will be held Tuesday, May 15 from 6pm until 8pm at city hall.
More information can be found here.
