$30M repairs to 50-year-old Winnipeg parkade move forward at city hall

Hundreds of Winnipeggers rely on the Millennium Library Parkade to get to work, attend downtown events, and visit nearby restaurants or its namesake library.

"It's one of the only parkades in town thatisn't full and actually takes a debit card all the others take credit cards," said Tyler McDonald, who uses the parkade to get to work.

When a 2021 study found the parkade needed tens of millions of dollars in repairs, the City of Winnipeg considered several options, including selling the parkade, demolishing it, or building a new one.

An initial estimate pegged the cost of repairs at $55 million, but a later study revised the price down to $30 million.

Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) thinks the parkade is worth the cost.

"It's a highly used parkade and it will continue to be a highly used parkade, because of the Canada Life facility, because it's downtown, because of the library," she told reporters at city hall on Tuesday.

"It's a beautiful parkade, it's heated, it's nice, it's secure."

A report to the committee recommended making the repairs over the next seven years, which the city hopes will extend the life of the parkade for another 25 years.

"The parkade is actually turning 50 years old this year. So that's 50 years of wear and tear of the salt erosion from vehicles coming in over the winter time," said Lisa Patterson, manager of operations and facilities for the Winnipeg Parking Authority.

Among the immediate priorities identified in a consultant report in 2021 are the concrete slabs underneath the two levels of the underground, 480-stall parkade.

The concrete has deteriorated and needs to be repaired.

Also, the electrical and mechanical systems are all original from when the facility was built in 1974, and are past their useful life.

Higher rates considered

The report recommends the city spend $14.5 million during the 2024-27 budget cycle to make high-priority repairs to the concrete slab on one level, replace obsolete lighting controls, and replace the air handler unit.

The rest of the work would be completed in 2028 and 2030. That work would make additional structural, electrical and mechanical repairs, including adding up to 40 electric charging stations.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the parkade brought in $936,000 annually.

Last year, the city made $756,000, up from $463,000 in 2022.

The committee voted to approve the referral to the 2024-27 budget, with Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) voting against it.

Lukes suggested during the meeting the city could raise parking rates to cover the costs.

"I think there's a lot of higher rates in other cities, and it's a premium parking spot, so it should have a premium price, in my opinion," she said.

Patterson responded the city routinely raises rates by two per cent per year, although this year the monthly rate increased by five per cent.

Tyler McDonald says he thinks the city shouldspend the money to make the repairs, but raising the rates could backfire.

"It's like a double-edged sword, because you have more money coming in, in theory, but also in theory, less people are going to want to park here because it's not as cheap," he said.

Speaking to the committee as a delegation, Bike Winnipeg executive director Mark Cohoe called on the city to look at upgrades to the facility's bike stalls.

While they remain mostly empty during the winter, there is a waitlist for annual passes as cyclists use it during the summer, he said.

"Ideally we'd like to see it upgraded so it's a little easier to find, a little more accessible and potentially expanded as well," he said.

If approved by council, the city will have to find room for it in the budget, expected to be released Feb. 7.

Report recommends spending $30M for repairs to one of Winnipeg's busiest parkades

10 months ago

Duration 2:04

The City of Winnipeg is considering making $30 million in repairs to the Millennium Library Parkade, which turns 50 years old this year.