Charlottetown Farmers market restricts parking

LA

- February 26, 2013 at 00:03:43

Any business having the good fortune to have a decent parking area knows how it goes. It's not full ALL the time, so people beg to use it for free cause they live nearby and have no parking spot. You feel bad for them, so you say OK. Then "creep" and advantage-taking sets in. It can never be fully plowed because they're always there overnight, so they can't get back into the out-of-the-way spots and start creeping further and further into your lot until suddenly there's dozens of them and your own employees are getting tickets for parking illegally on the street because they can't find space in the lot reserved for them during peak usage times. Then you're a jerk for banning free parking by non-employees, when you started out trying to be nice. At my place of work we've even had nearby residents yell at employees to "get out of my parking space" even though the lot is fenced, marked, and has a large tow-zone sign (although we have kindly never towed a soul as we would love to be able to share our lot harmoniously). But when enough's enough, the free parkers don't get the last word, as indignant as they may be at having the convenient service revoked.

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No Problem

- February 25, 2013 at 20:22:22

Parking will not be a problem for me . I will not be going to the market any more since the farmers are a big part of me having to pay a lot more after the HST comes in . I personally am going to boycott all farm products grown on PEI along with doing as much buying on line as possible . It's the only means I have to fight this rip off tax . I expect to pay a lot less in taxes to PEI by doing this . Very little of that extra $25 million will be from me . The rest of you can make up my share of Ghiz's spending money .

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  LA

  - February 25, 2013 at 23:43:22

  Ridiculous. The rest of us did not cause your issues. What's your profession? I'm going to boycott it because of you.

Senior Islander

- February 25, 2013 at 16:12:48

Why not just have no parking signs up on snow removal days or on any day the Market is open and handle the insurance problem by posting a not responsible for accidents sign? With no liabilty there should not be an insurance problem. Not allowing the use of the lot when it is not being utilized by market customers or snow removal appears unreasonable to me. Plus I do not use the lot for parking unless I am attending the market.

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  senior student

  - February 25, 2013 at 18:07:03

  It's easy to say it should be up to UPEI to rent the land to park on from the market...but I know they tried that a few years ago..even offered to pave the parking lot for them and the market 'people' said no way...Agriculture Canada owns that land not the market and as far as I know they just lease it from them...but like everything else on this Island...just because it hasn't been done before...it's like no one can ever figure out a way to make it work now.

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  David

  - February 25, 2013 at 20:11:20

  Think of it this way. You own a pool without a fence and one day a 10 year-old kids walks into your yard when you are not home and drowns in your pool. Having a "not responsible for accidents" sign isn't going to do squat the kid died on your property. Change that to a student gets run over and severely injured or killed while walking in the Farmer's Market lot. The Farmer's Market will be sued out of existence because they didn't provide a safe environment for the (illegal) users of the parking lot. You have to make sure the land you own is secure when you are not there otherwise you will be held responsible.

parker shellby

- February 25, 2013 at 16:04:15

There always was a "No Parking" sign at the Farmers Market, it blew down in a wind storm back in 2010, and AAFC never replaced it.

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UPEI Student

- February 25, 2013 at 15:47:39

I would take the bus if only it came near my house, but driving half an hour to Charlottetown to get to the bus stop makes no sense. Also paying for both a parking pass and bus pass is pointless if you can't use the bus. Either everyone pay for both to drive down parking passes, or just pay for one.

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Extra parking

- February 25, 2013 at 15:47:30

The university should rent parking spaces from the land owner with the large parking lot across the street if they want their students to be able to park in that lot. The onus is on the university, not nearbye landowners, to fix the parking problem.

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clam

- February 25, 2013 at 15:12:53

There is know reason for anybody to get upset.This is their right.It's not their fault the university doesn't have enough parking spots.The market needs this for themselves,plus their insurance costs would go up.

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Senior Student

- February 25, 2013 at 13:57:20

How are students who don't have the money to pay for parking passes crowding out the Market's regular customers? The market is only open on Sat. There wouldn't be half dozen student cars there at all if any on Sat. There is no space to park at UPEI even if you have a pass I know I can never find one. Seniors College of PEI pays $8 a semester to park on campus, regular students pay nearly $90. I'm a centennial scholar, over 60 so a senior taking a class I can't afford a pass and I don't get one for $8...and now I can't park at the market...although I've been a regular patron of the market for years...sounds like nothing but excuses and dog in the manger attitude by the market to me...

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  LA

  - February 25, 2013 at 23:45:36

  It's still not their problem that UPEI doesn't provide you with parking. Maybe I'll use your driveway since mine is full, that okay with you? You don't use it all day anyway.

non profit co-op for benefit of themselves

- February 25, 2013 at 13:14:57

Farmers market is run by a gestapo of participants who take care of profit in the market for their exclusive benefit. Try getting to sell in the market, where remarkably very few farmers are involved. Another elitist group running a publicly funded and built facility.

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UPEI

- February 25, 2013 at 12:21:15

UPEI should donate the money they make from over-selling passes for each of their parking lots. The pass I bought for $100+ for which entitles me the 'right to park' (according to the uni) in one of their lots. If you're arriving after 8:30am, good luck finding a spot.

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rob

- February 25, 2013 at 12:15:41

Please stop stating things like "We’ve talked with UPEI, and they’re alright with that" and "very few people are upset by the change at all". Of course UPEI is saying that, parking permits are sold out, and there aren't enough spaces in the first place, not like this would make any more sense. There are lots of people upset, obviously! Why would you say there has been major backlash, but nobody is upset in the same story?

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  their property their rules

  - February 25, 2013 at 13:00:31

  The Charlottetown Farmers Market is private property, just like the Burger King and the Spring Park Plaza shopping area. If those property owners decide for reasons of insurance liability or otherwise to ban and remove vehicles from parking on their property when those vehicle users are going to another property (UPEI), then that is 100% within their right. If UPEI students don't like it, they can either walk with the 2 legs underneath their you-know-whats or they can ride on the nice green buses that their student passes are paying for.

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  AShley

  - February 25, 2013 at 14:45:15

  He said there hasn’t been any major backlash over the decision You won't get far in university if you cant read.