49th Street parking lot. (Supplied)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

12 new stalls

Lacombe city council approves downtown parking improvements

Jul 13, 2023 | 2:53 PM

Lacombe city council approved downtown parking improvements, adding parking stalls to the parking lot on 5026 49 Street and angled parking along 49B Avenue.

Officials say the improvement on 49B Ave. will add seven additional stalls to the downtown this year. The 49th St. parking lot alteration will create five stalls next to the Blacksmith Shop.

“Our residents love living and working in downtown Lacombe,” said Mayor Grant Creasey. “Creating additional parking means creating more access to the core businesses and amenities which help make Lacombe great. Council will continue to seek methods to improve parking capacity downtown.”

The improvements come after the city conducted surveys and engaged with the adjacent property owner north of the 5026 49 St. parking lot. The surveys gathered opinions on parking, streetscapes, and amenities from residents, visitors, and business owners.

The survey asked residents to share their downtown parking needs and consider different streetscape elements and amenities. The City received responses from 352 residents over six weeks, 323 of which were from members of the general public and 29 from business owners, operators, and employees near the 49 St. lot and along 49B Ave.

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49B Avenue parking. (Supplied)

Parking ranked as the top “amenity” choice, with benches and waste bins ranking second and third overall. Eighty-four percent of respondents reported parking for two hours or less, and 69 per cent reported parking for one hour or less.

A complete summary of the results is available on the City’s website.

The Downtown Area Redevelopment Plan (DARP) committee had previously made a motion recommending council support the parking changes to 49B Ave. and 49 St., including the top three priority amenities of benches, waste bins, and landscaping, in spaces unusable for parking.

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