Paid parking at the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre is drawing frustration from some Chelsea residents, visitors and business owners who say the new fees are already having an impact. The National Capital Commission (NCC) introduced paid parking at the visitor centre on Sept. 1. The first 30 minutes are free before drivers are charged $3 for every other half an hour up to a daily maximum of $16 per day. For 75-year-old Chelsea resident Carol Ferderber, the change means her daily walk through Gatineau Park now comes with an added cost. “I have to pay for at least an hour, which is more than $6, so to me I am a little disappointed,” she said. The change also caught many visitors who were visiting the popular spot for the long weekend off guard. “It kind of sucks. Like you know it would just be nice to come out for a nice little walk and not need to pay $16 for parking,” said visitor Melissa Pharand. The NCC says the new parking system is intended to better manage demand, improve parking availability and encourage visitors to use other forms of transportation. But some nearby business owners say the change is creating another problem. “Now, we need to pay staff to take care of the parking just because all our parking spaces get taken basically,” said Vincent Boudreau, co-owner of Restaurant Tonique. “I think we’ll need a few weeks to really have a sense of the problem, but I just think that they really just shifted the problem.” Chelsea Mayor Brian Nolan says the timing of the change caught the municipality off guard, adding new pressure to a parking problem he says has existed for years. “It has been a problem for a long time,” said Nolan. “All the past councils, they never looked at buying property for public parking for visitors and locals and now we’re faced today with all the land has been sold. So, we have to look for different options, different alternatives to resolve this issue.” The municipality is now opening some municipal parking areas during off-hours and on weekends as it looks for other options. The NCC says revenue collected through the parking fees will be reinvested into park operations, infrastructure, shuttle services and other public services. For Ferderber, however, the change means something she has long considered part of her daily routine now comes with a price. “I’m 75 years old so, for me it was very beautiful to be able to come here without paying every time I come,” she said. “So, it’s a little disappointing.”
