Federal workers return to the parking puzzle

The recent return of federal workers to their offices three days a week has more commuters circling the block for scarce parking spots in downtown Ottawa and Gatineau.  

The sudden spike in demand for parking last week led one federal complex this week to limit parking to holders of $195 monthly passes, even though most workers don't need them five days a week.

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) said the monthly pass requirement at the Laurier-Taché garage came into effect Monday because of last week's "heavy vehicle congestion, which created safety risks" at the facility, which mainly serves workers at Place du Portage in Gatineau's downtown Hull sector. 

Cory Hall said he spent another hour looking for a parking spot after he was waved away from the garage last week.

"I got there at eight o'clock last week and they said, 'No, it's full,'" Hall said. "I had to go around to all the different parking garages."

Hall, who said it's not cost-effective for him to purchase a monthly pass, eventually found an on-street spot with a two-hour limit, and later moved his vehicle to a different private lot.

Chloë Allain-Charron said the "last minute" switch to monthly passes has put returning workers in a tough spot, especially with ongoing construction and newly built condo towers making parking scarce in downtown Gatineau.

"We're fighting to get monthly passes," Allain-Charron said. "It's a waiting game to see if we have one and what we're going to do if we don't get one."

PSPC said it's working with companies Impark and BGIS to manage demand at the 1,112-spot lot, which the department said was never designed for all-day parking. 

The early bird snags the spot

In downtown Ottawa, the Esplanade Laurier parkade received a steady stream of vehicles until 6:50 a.m. Tuesday when it was declared full. Several lots throughout Centretown had similarly reached capacity by mid-morning.

Jean-Pierre Gbegan said he noticed last week that "traffic was crazy" and parking a challenge.

"You can clearly see way more people coming in," he said.

Gbegan said he can't take public transit to work because he has to drop his daughter off at daycare. Now, he's waking her at 5:30 a.m. so he can get her there when the centre opens, all to beat the morning traffic.

Last week's LRT shutdown, which came just two days into the new return-to-the-office mandate, didn't help to inspire confidence in OC Transpo. 

Martina Vorel, who commutes to work from Kanata, said she's looking for ways to spend less time on the road, not more.

"I wouldn't do the bus because I've heard from other people it takes just as long on the bus. It's actually not even faster," Vorel said.

Isabelle Lanthier said she's started carpooling with two friends from Crysler in North Stormont, Ont., due to the traffic, as well as the cost and scarcity of parking.

Lots managing demand

Katherine Villeneuve Bellfoy, vice-president of operations for Groupe Marc Dubé, which manages parking lots in Gatineau, said the company has noticed an increase in demand since the in-office mandate came into effect. 

The group has implemented valet parking at some of its lots as a way to fit more vehicles in.

Carole Whitehorne, executive director of the Canadian Parking Association, said monthly passes are "designed to manage supply and demand, particularly in peak period."

"Parking operations, whether city owned or private, have a finite inventory of spaces that require varied management policies to meet the needs of different stakeholders," she said in a written response.