By Ken Lancastle
Improved parking will mean improved business for Chinatown, says Philip Yip, set to become the newest member of the board of directors for the Somerset Street Chinatown Business Improvement Area.
Yip, who has owned the Kowloon Market on Somerset Street since 1997, was nominated last month by Irene Wang, the chair of the business improvement area.
He says the lack of parking on Somerset Street means fewer customers are going to a business district that has been faltering over the past few years.
“All the business people are complaining that Chinatown is slowing down,” says Yip. “It is because of parking problems.”
Marilla Lo, the executive director of the business improvement area, reiterates that parking is the biggest issue.
She says there are not enough parking spaces available, and says aggressive ticketing on Somerset Street is driving away potential customers.
According to Lo, customers will sometimes walk into a store and forget about the time. When they go to their car, they often have a parking ticket. She says a trip to Chinatown can unexpectedly become expensive.
“The few people who want to come here are not going to come,” said Lo. “When people don’t have parking, they don’t stop for business, lunch, or shopping.”
Both Yip and Lo say the way to improve parking and bring more business to Chinatown, is to get the same lunch hour parking and free Saturday parking that Preston Street has.
Preston Street has free lunch hour parking from noon until two o’clock on weekdays, and free parking all day Saturday.
Yip said the Somerset area must have similar rules to draw more people and shoppers to Chinatown.
But Yip and Lo say they are both happy Preston Street has the free parking and say there are no hard feelings between the two business districts.
Even so, they say they want the same advantages for their businesses, and have written letters to Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes about the issue.
“Some of the business people think it is not fair,” says Yip. “People want to know why we can’t be treated like Preston Street.”
John Buck, the manager of safety and traffic services at the City of Ottawa, says Preston Street achieved the free lunch hour parking more than a decade ago.
He says it is not a big issue to change the parking regulations, as long as consensus exists among the business owners.
Buck says the city will have to determine what the parking turnaround of the street is. Once that is done, he says they will work closely with the business improvement area, and the local councillor.
With this done, Buck says the process can be completed very quickly.
But, it is possible some businesses may not want the change, he says, because they rely on a higher volume of customers, who do not stay in stores or restaurants as long.
Lo says she will continue to work with the city to gain the lunch hour parking, which will hopefully help a business area that has been losing business for a few years.
“That is very important for the survival of the business,” she says.