The public parking lot on Third Street across from St. Giles Anglican Church and just behind the Royal Bank, will be closed to traffic for about a month, beginning in early June.
The Estevan Business Improvement District (BID) board of directors has determined that the much-maligned lot, which has been undergone several repairs over the past few years, will be reconstructed properly.
“This was the only parking lot now in the BID parking lot system that was originally developed by the City of Estevan, itself. That area used to be home for the former Holmgren Motors dealership and the United Church and when those closed, apparently a hole was dug and the debris was buried there and then paved over,” said BID spokesman Barry O’Handley in making the announcement of the makeover.
“As a result, there have been several voids in that lot which have left us with regular potholes and there was even a pretty big sinkhole that showed up a few years ago,” said O’Handley.
Once BID was put in charge of the central business district’s public parking lots, the troublesome, but still popular parking lot, thanks to its proximity to downtown retailers, had to be shored up on a regular basis over its 40 year lifespan.
“It will be done properly, using concrete as a base this time. Turnbull’s Excavating has been awarded the contract to do the work and they will remove about 18 inches of asphalt. A good portion of the lot was repaved not too long ago. That pavement can be recycled, so the loss won’t be that significant,” said O’Handley.
The lot, which consists of two city lots, will be closed to vehicles sometime this week, or next.
“By using concrete, if there are any voids left, they will be nullified by the use of the rebar that will go into the concrete pad,” he said.
The entire project, which could cost up to $200,000 will be financed and amortized by BID over the next four or five years. BID receives an annual allocation of funds from the city in return for their downtown improvements and parking lot maintenance. These projects include the floral boxes, partnership in the small downtown park behind the Salvation Army, the retail sector’s trees and sidewalks.
“Anyone with a BID parking pass for this particular lot can park in any of the other city parking lots while the construction is underway. We realize this may be a bit inconvenient for some, but it’s the right time of year and we want to get the job done before the Saskatchewan Summer Games begin,” said O’Handley. “It will disrupt some of the day-to-day parking for a few, but the project should be completed by July 1,” said the BID director. “If we don’t do it this way, then in another eight years, we’d be in a real mess. Concrete is supposed to give this parking surface a lot longer life than another paving job would and the rebar structure will provide the strength underneath. Patching this lot in the past has been a nightmare, so we’ve put it in our budget and it’s getting done now.”
O’Handley said another lot or two have been assessed for potential parking lot space in the future, but nothing is immediately pending to add to the parking spaces, although parking in the central part of the city has not been a major problem over the past few years, thanks to the existing public parking lots, even after the loss of a few general parking spots right along Fourth Street.
“We have another two lots on Third Street, one of them being a double lot and then on Fifth Street we have the double lot behind the House of Stationery and a lot on Sixth Street on the west side of the meridian that separates the Access Communication parking lot and our public lot. Access owns the lot close to their building, BID has the lot right next to it,” said O’Handley.
So, while there may be some temporary inconveniences, BID feels the brief period of parking pain will be worth it and vehicle owners should be able to find alternative spots within a reasonable walking distance of the downtown core.
