When I go to a Bomber Game, I usually park in a residential area. I never get enormously sloshed mind you, and I don't urinate in people's yards. I am generally respectful, but I realize that not everybody is.
I therefore understand the concerns of the group that appealed the construction of the new stadium today.* However, I am also glad that it failed. Delaying the construction could mean sinking more money into the current dump of a stadium, and probably an extra season of me cramming into a seat with 10" of leg room. It's painful, and I don't want to do it anymore. We need to build a new stadium and we need to build it now.
The good news is that we can build a new stadium and address the parking concerns of the surrounding neighbourhood. One option that we may want to look at is the system that they have in Edmonton. They have a parking buffer zone surrounding their stadium, with a ban on non-local vehicles. LINK
Parking is restricted on all signed streets from the start of the game and for the next two hours. Any vehicle not displaying a valid residential parking permit will be tagged and towed at the owner's expense.I know people who live in that zone, and it seems to work well for them.
The buffer zone would force more people to park in lots surrounding the stadium, potentially generating more revenue for the organization (or the UofM). It may also increase use of rapid transit (are we still doing that, Sam?) or ordinary transit.
Anyhow, I'm sure we could do something like that, or put our heads together and come up with a creative new solution that will keep pissed off drunken Bomber hooligans from crapping all over your yard after an embarrassing loss to the Rough Riders. Oh wait ... Mike Kelly is gone now! I mean: joyful and festive bomber fans, after a dominating WIN over the Riders!
* or the zoning variance, or whatever it technically was.
3 comments:
I think the parking buffer would work as well.
However, I think the Bombers and the University have to make sure that all of the parking that is available at the university is clearly marked and that traffic in and out well managed.
Some people will do anything to avoid paying for parking so the trick will be to make sure that the penalty for paying in the buffer zone exceeds the payment for parking at the university. It certainly would help if the parking price at the university for a game was free or very low cost.
Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium has light-rail transit that stops right there, along with extensive bus service. The LRT there goes all over, not just to one spot like Winnipeg's will. Will Winnipeg's LRT be anywhere in Edmonton's LRT ballpark? Doubt it.
But that said, I still support the new stadium.
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