Charlottetown Centre loses another parking lot

Kirsten Ferguson

Charlottetown Centre students may no longer park in the Best Western Motel parking lot, but they can still leave their cars on the south side of Park Street.

Centre administrator Roger Vail sent out two e-mails Jan. 24 warning students not to park in the motel parking lot.

"The reason why students can"t park there is because it's not our parking lot," Vail says.

Although students have technically never been allowed to park at the Best Western, conveniently located near the Grafton Street school entrance, only last week did the motel decide to aggressively enforce this policy.

"This is the first I've heard of it," Vail says. He can't remember receiving any complaints about student parking from Best Western staff until last week.

The East Coast Music Awards, frequently-booked meeting rooms, and the busiest winter season at the motel in recent years are among the reasons the Best Western has taken a tougher stance on Holland College student parking.

Best Western chief engineer Mike Clark, who called Vail last week, says the recent series of snowstorms hitting the Island have also made parking space more precious.

"It's because of so much snow being around that we need every space we can get,"

Parking at the college is at a premium. After last month's major storm, five cars were towed after parking in spaces which blocked the main parking lot on Cumberland Street. The owners had to pay $53 to reclaim their vehicles.

"(Best Western staff) would have notified me if they had towed any cars and I didn't get any notification," Vail says.

So far, Clark says no cars have been towed for parking at the Best Western, but he will be forced to do so if Holland College students continue to park there.

Students who parked on Edward Street also had to move their cars on the morning of Feb. 1 to make way for Department of Public Works vehicles cleaning the street after another recent snowstorm.

Vail says students may leave their cars in the college's extra parking lot on Park Street, near the Charlottetown Civic Centre.