City scraps plan to pave Edworthy Park lot and charge user fees

The city's plan to pave the north parking lot at Edworthy Park at the end of Shaganappi Trail have come to a screeching halt following a lot of pushback from affected Calgarians.

The city had been holding public consultation sessions this spring after its development permit emerged in April.

The roughly $1-million project would have fixed the potholes, drainage and dust issues, as well as added lighting, EV chargers, and proper stalls in the well-used lot adjacent to the popular northwest park.

Opponents of the plan raised concerns over the proposed parking fees the city said were needed to recoup its costs and to better manage use of the lot.

But now the permit has been pulled.

"Through the engagement process we heard from park users and residents that they are satisfied with the current lot and would rather we keep the current, free parking arrangement over collecting a fee to fund improvements. Therefore we are no longer proceeding with the project," said Chris Blaschuk, manager of Calgary Parking.

The department says they would have allowed people to park for free for two hours free and then charge $.75 cents per hour to a maximum of $5 for the rest of the day.

But now the city is looking at doing some minor maintenance using taxpayers dollars.

Coun. Terry Wong, who recently held a town hall for nearby residents at the Parkdale Community Centre, says that could include laying down packed gravel and adding some lighting and curb stops. 

"The community agreed that the condition is not the greatest and they would have a conversation with the city about what minor enhancements ... would look like," said Wong.

The city's development permit application also included plans to resurface some park land east of the main lot, closer to the Point McKay condos, to create overflow parking.

But those plans, which Wong says also received a lot of negative feedback from residents, have also been cancelled, for now.

"You can never say never, but certainly not in the foreseeable future," said Wong.