Having a hard time finding parking downtown? Here's why - Action News
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OttawaGet Parked

Having a hard time finding parking downtown? Here's why

Parking trends in Ottawa's core have shifted in the pandemic, with demand exceeding supply three days a week and empty spaces being reserved for monthly pass holders who dont always show up.

Demand exceeds supply 3 days a week, while empty spaces saved for pass holders

Get Parked: Parking trends shift gears during the pandemic

9 months ago
Duration 3:46
The lots say they are full, but there are empty spaces. Why is it so hard to find parking in downtown Ottawa, especially during the middle of the week?

Altaf Sovani was 15 minutes late for a meeting he was running in downtown Ottawa because he was driving in circles looking for a parking space.

"My routine starts maybe around 10 o'clock so when I get here normally the parking is all taken," Sovani said.

"It's frustrating."

Sovani isn't alone. Downtown parking trends in Ottawa have shifted during the pandemic with demand exceeding supply three days a week and empty spaces being reserved for monthly pass holderswho don't always show up.

Data from the City Hallparking lotin September and October shows spacesare practically full, but only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

A chart of daily parking use over a two-month period.
Data from the Ottawa City Hall parking lot shows its spaces were mostly full during the middle of the week. (CBC)

A number of factors drivethe mid-week parking crunch including Ottawa's largest employer the federal government mandatingemployees back to the office, but onlypart time.

Demand exceeds supply

Brent Robinson, director of operations with parking management firm Indigo, said office workers often choose to work from home on Mondays and Fridays.

"Before COVIDthe total number of parking transactions was shared across five days, now everyone wants to work and park Tuesday to Thursday," he said.

Trudy Samuel has caught onto the trend and tries to zig when others zagby working from the office on Mondays and Fridays.

"I don't really have any great tips, it's just everyday is a new day," the federal public servant said.

Someone smiles behind the wheel of a grey car.
Trudy Samuel says she tries to work at the office on Mondays and Fridays if she can because it's not as difficult to find parking on those days. (Robyn Miller/CBC)

Transit ridership in Ottawa has also lagged behind national urban trends since April 2020and some of those riders instead choose to drive downtown.

In October 2019, for example, there were about 9,600,000 customer trips on OC Transpo. There were 6,400,000 in October 2023.

Is monthly parking the answer?

Parking attendants who spoke on background to CBCsay they're required to save enough spaces for monthly pass holders even if they don't come to work.

It can be frustrating for driverswho see empty spaces inside lots but are told they can't park there.

Mal Watt is a contractor who spends about 20 minutes a day looking for parking downtown.

"It's awful, it takes up so much of my life," Watt said.

"It's hard to find a spot. When you do find a spot, you have a limited time to park there and it's very expensive."

A woman stands on a street with a plaid shirt and dark hair.
Mal Watt is frustrated with the current parking situation in downtown Ottawa. As a contractor, Watt says she spends about 20 minutes looking for a place to park whenever she works downtown. (Robyn Miller/CBC)

Annabelle Cloutier, executive director of strategy and communications at the National Arts Centre (NAC), said it's been an adjustmentrunning a public parking lot downtown.

The NAC has to put a staff member at the parking garage door to ensure the lot doesn't overflow on its busiest days.

"We try to make sure those with a pass have access and can come in," Cloutier said, adding ticket buyers and those there for meetings can use the short-term parking.

"(We're) trying to make space for everybody, but of course it's not necessarily perfect;there's a way to go."

A woman in a jacket stands in an underground parking garage.
Annabelle Cloutier, executive director of strategy and communications at the National Arts Centre, says running a downtown public parking lot in the pandemic is an adjustment. (Robyn Miller/CBC)

Those who snag a monthly pass at a lot downtown can expect to pay between $200 and $300 a month to Indigo, according to Robinson.

He said drivers who push further out of the core can expect to pay between $50 and $150.