Update on SOEC parking following exciting weekend

The parking capacity at the South Okanagan Events Centre (SOEC) complex was put to the test this past weekend. Between the Vees game, Fest of Ale, Weezer concert, Gun & Antique Show, Okanagan Symphony, hockey, lacrosse and the opening of the Cascades Casino, more than 25,000 people are estimated to have travelled to the complex to attend events.

The City worked with the tenants at the SOEC complex to plan for parking and traffic management during the events. They arranged for a free Event Shuttle, four flaggers to help with traffic management, as well as extensive education and awareness activities about available parking and travel options. The Cascades Casino also provided a free Casino Shuttle. All of the efforts were funded by the Cascades Casino. Some of the early findings of these activities include:

• The accessible parking area was full on Friday night including the additional 50 extra spaces that were added.

• Four flaggers were scheduled between 4 pm and 8 pm on Saturday and were not required as traffic moved well.

• The free Event Shuttle was used by 46 riders.

• Bylaw Services issued the following notices on Friday and Saturday:

• 34 warning tickets for vehicles parked on boulevards or other unmarked areas

• 2 tickets for vehicles parked illegally

• A few residents on Caribou Street expressed concern about spillover of event parking onto their street.

A parking study (December 2015) completed as a requirement for the development of the Cascades Casino showed that with more than 1000+ parking spaces on site, there is sufficient parking at SOEC for the vast majority of the year and on rare occasions where a major event is taking place, there are another 1000+ spaces in lots and on the streets within a 5 to 10 minute walk.