Fredericton business owners worried about performing arts centre location

Shopowners in downtown Fredericton want city council to think about business before digging up the York Street parking lot for a new performing arts centre.

Luke Randall said he is worried losing a large section of the parking lotwould make it more challenging for customers to get to his store on Queen Street.

"If you look at where the retail stores are, they do seem to be within close proximity to the parking at Kings Place, and the York Street car park," said Randall.

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"When you start to move away from those two central parking areas, there's very little retail, and what retail there is, often those retailers don't stay very long."

Randall has 21 years of downtown business experience. He said the customers at his store, Think Play toy store and Endeavours, depend on the parking spaces there.

"Where there has been plentiful parking in the past, there tends to be more retail. Where there is less parking, there tends to be less retail," said Randall.

Parking plan coming

Coun. Stephen Chase said heunderstands why business owners would be concerned, but he said they shouldn't worry.

He said the city considered what would happen to the parking situation before making the announcement.

"Council is cognizant of the need for adequate offstreet parking downtown," said Chase.

"We know that a certain block of parking is going to be removed from the York Street parking lot."

Chase said this will likely mean the construction of a new parking facility to take care of any of the parking that will be lost.

He said those plans will be made within the next few months, long before construction starts on the new performing arts centre.

"Downtown businesses could be rightfully concerned in the short term but I think that they'll get an explanation how we propose to deal with the parking issue in the next few months as this project unfolds," said Chase.