WATCH ABOVE: Some business owners and shoppers in Old Strathcona are worried the sale of a parking lot near Whyte Ave will hurt business and discourage visitors. Fletcher Kent explains.
EDMONTON — Some Whyte Avenue businesses are worried the sale of a nearby piece of land may lead to fewer customers in their shops.
The City of Edmonton is selling the piece of land that houses the South Scona Parking lot on 105 Street just south of Whyte Ave. The 300-stall lot is one of only a couple large parking lots in the area.
“Not everyone can take transit, not everyone can walk down here. People need to be able to park their vehicles, and to take away a parking spot … is just not good,” said Sally Swan.
Swan works at Chicken Scratch, which is within walking distance of the lot. She says taking away easy parking is a “detriment to the business owners.”
“Especially during busier times, having some parking becomes very important. We do get complaints about the lack of available spaces,” she explained. “We know it’s a struggle all around the avenue, not just for us.”
Customers are concerned, too, saying that finding parking in the popular entertainment district can already be a struggle.
“We had to park quite a ways away because you can’t park anywhere close to the part of Whyte Avenue that we like,” said Marvin Belcourt.
“We’ve noticed over the years that the parking lots are getting a lot smaller and prices have gone up … and when the parking leaves the people are going to leave, so I think it’s a real shame.”
READ MORE: City sees support to make Whyte Avenue car-free
The area won’t lose all 300 parking spots, though, there is a condition in the sale that stipulates the new owner must offer 150 public parking stalls on top of what they need for their own development.
“If you want to create one of those areas where people could come, park their car and then go out and walk from shop to shop to shop to shop, you still need to have the parking lots to do that,” said Ben Henderson, the area councillor.
Henderson says a previous council made the decision to sell the lot. City administration conducted a study and concluded there was enough customer parking in the Whyte Avenue area.
So far there’s no word on what could replace the parking lot, the land only recently went up for sale. The city is selling the lot for more than $13 million.
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