Visitors arriving by car to the Exchange District will notice some new signs this summer. We have installed “parking guides” along sections of Bannatyne Avenue, King Street, and Arthur Street — part of a pilot project to help improve the readability of parking signage.
The new guides include a colour-coded timetable that highlights all the regulations in place in a given spot. The guides face the sidewalk, so the intent is to view them after parking your car.
“When there are multiple parking signs on a street it can be difficult to read them all at once while driving,” said Ajaleigh Williams, the Winnipeg Parking Authority’s Program Manager.
What the parking guides let you do is park your car, and then confirm if you’ve parked correctly depending on the time, day of the week, and season.
A potential second phase of the pilot, which requires approval from Council and the Province of Manitoba, will replace the street-facing signage with new designs that are intended to further improve readability.
Both phases of the Exchange District pilot are intended to improve people’s parking experience and reduce confusion around parking signs.
Winnipeggers can share their thoughts on the guides until July 31 by scanning the QR code found beneath each guide, or by contacting 311.
“We’re eager to hear all feedback on the guides to help us decide how we should proceed once the pilot’s over,” said Williams.
The parking guides are the latest in a series of new signs that have appeared in paid parking areas recently. In April, new signs went up clarifying that you can park for up to four hours on Saturdays — two hours of which are free — in all paid areas except around hospitals.
And in June, we started switching the PayByPhone location numbers used for mobile parking payments from four digits to six digits, and introduced a new map feature to make it easier to find your number. Each number is also now unique to a specific block face (one side of the road between two intersections).
“These changes are all about making progressive enhancements to parking, based on what we’ve seen in other cities,” said Dan Locke, the Winnipeg Parking Authority’s Policy Analyst. “For example, with the new PayByPhone numbers, we will have much better data on where people are parking and when. This could allow us to introduce things like providing drivers with real-time information on parking availability.”
We are also working on a five-year parking strategy that will outline our vision for parking policies moving forward.
“We know that parking can have a big impact on many groups, whether it’s residents, visitors, hospitals, or business owners in paid areas,” said Williams.
“We’ve been talking to as many people as possible, and we’re excited to be working on a plan that will guide us in our decision making in the years to come.”