North Bay review recommends city sell downtown parking garage
An organizational review of the City of North Bay recommends the city consider selling its downtown parking garage on McIntyre Street.
Parking garage on McIntyre Street in North Bay. May 2, 2024 (Eric Taschner/CTV Northern Ontario)
The recommendation comes from the accounting firm KPMG, which audited the city’s services.
An independent, third-party review of the city and its services was requested by council in December 2022. KPMG was awarded the contract in summer 2023.
“There's always ways that we can improve and make things better, and this really gives us that chance to map out an implementation plan,” said Deputy Mayor Maggie Horsfield.
As part of its recommendation that the city clarify its community safety and well-being plan, the consultant suggests the city consider divesting the garage.
Its organizational review found the downtown parking garage, which is owned and operated by the city, has faced security challenges related to homelessness in the area.
“City staff have been trying to implement some different ways of addressing the challenges that we face at the parking garage over the past number of years,” Horsfield said.
KPMG acknowledged there have been improvements to security which are under review.
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
“The city should perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine the long-term plan for this parking garage, as well,” KPMG senior manager Sana Malik said during Tuesday’s special committee meeting.
Horsfield said council plans to look into the option further.
“A number of individuals use it for businesses and those who live in the downtown,” she said.
“Having that strategy in that report will provide more context and that research that's going to be done into whether or not parking can be moved somewhere else. Is there a great need in that area?”
The report said that understanding the future state of the parking garage will be essential in building the city’s facilities and parking department’s strategy and business plan.
“The city has already, in the 2024 budget, allocated funds to go towards the downtown parking strategy,” Horsfield said.
“Within that downtown parking strategy, we're updating our plans of parking requirements within the downtown.”
The review finds the city has historically reviewed its parking master plan every five years but the most recent update was in 2011.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
His SUV was stolen on Montreal's South Shore. Then he got a $156 parking ticket
A couple is frustrated after their SUV was stolen from Montreal's South Shore in March and they received a parking ticket for the same vehicle last week.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Banking mogul suing government after intelligence leaks leave him shut out of Canadian economy
Chinese Canadian banking mogul Shenglin Xian has launched a $300 million lawsuit against the federal government. It’s a means to find the source of intelligence leaks which Xian says has cost him his livelihood.
Impaired driver sentenced to 7 years after double-fatal Cambridge crash
A man who killed two people in a drunk driving crash was sentenced Friday to seven years behind bars.
Online obituary business from Quebec City catching flak for posting unauthorized death notices
Some within the funeral home and mortuary services industries in Quebec say they are frustrated with an online obituary site that publishes death notices from public information posted on the internet. They claim the site is doing so without consent from the families.
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
The latest advice for expecting parents? Sign up for child care as soon as you're pregnant
Canada's new $10-a-day child care program is expanding, but there's growing evidence that demand for the program is rising even faster, leaving many parents on the outside looking in.