Parking problems in Winnipeg's Exchange District are creating headaches for some area business owners.
The addition of protected bike lanes saw some on-street parking converted into a pathway for cyclists.
One business owner wants to encourage people to cycle but says the lanes should be removed during winter.
Designer and shopkeeper Lennard Taylor said the new bike infrastructure has taken a bite out of his bottom line.
"The neighbourhood for three years was on the up and since it's gone in I've been talking to a lot of my neighbours and they're all having the same problems, the neighbourhood's gone downhill,” said Taylor. "I'm all for bike lanes but in the summer. In the wintertime...I'm a cyclist all summer long, into the fall, into late fall but when it's -30 I'm not riding my bicycle."
Ray Smelsky visits the Exchange periodically.
He said he'd spend more time in the area if it was easier to find a place to park.
"I think the probability is increased highly if we don't have congestion with bicycles here,” said Smelsky. “It's a lovely old area, it's very popular and it's well-appreciated."
The city said it recognizes parking is important to businesses and residents and added angled parking spots to create more than 70 new spaces in the east Exchange and 100 new spaces in the west Exchange.
It says there's been no net loss of parking since the addition of the bike lanes.
Bethany Daman is an avid cyclist. (Josh Crabb/CTV Winnipeg)
Bethany Daman's bicycle commute through the Exchange has gotten a lot easier thanks to the new lanes.
"I use them a couple times a week and I absolutely love them,” said Daman. “It makes cycling so much easier when you're not worried about competing with traffic."
The new angled parking spots are still a bit of a walk from Taylor's shop. He said it may take time for Winnipeggers to adjust to the idea of parking and walking but he says that's a difficult thing to ask of people especially during those few days of -30 C the city has just endured.
He says a compromise could be keeping the bike lanes in the summer and converting them back to parking in the winter.
Beyond the addition of the angled parking stalls, the city’s public works department says it's actively looking at solutions to address parking issues in the area and will continue to respond to feedback from area businesses and residents.
