Downtown parkade stays closed over structural issues

Winnipeg city officials have yet to decide what to do with a downtown civic parkade that has been closed since Friday due to structural issues.

The Civic Centre Parkade on Princess Street wasshut down because of concrete debris that had been falling inside the facility, city engineers have confirmed.

Officials confirmed on Monday that they had received a report about the parkade earlier last weekdays before it was shut down but said they needed to consult with engineers to find out exactly what happened.

Randy Topolinski, a spokesman for the Winnipeg Parking Authority, said it's normal for concrete debris to start falling in a structure that is almost 50 years old.

"The building was built in 1966, so certainly it's probably safe to say that it's reached its useful life expectancy," Topolinski told reporters.

Engineers will now have to look at the report over the next few weeks and decide whether the parkade can be repaired or not, according to officials.

Motorists scramble to find parking

The closure of the Civic Centre Parkade has left motorists scrambling for other downtown parking spots on Monday.

Blair Steenerson, who has a monthly parking pass there, said he is not surprised to hear the parkade has problems, but he is upset with how the city is handling the situation.

"It would have been nice if they knew it was that bad that they could have given everyone some notice," he said.

"There's going to be a mad scramble to find alternate spots around here now."

Steenerson said his car has been damaged before by falling debris in the parkade. He said he doesn't think the facility will ever reopen.

When asked if there are concerns about any other parkades, the city would only say that many parking structures in Winnipeg are privately owned, and those owners are therefore responsible for their own inspections.