Those in Regina’s downtown this weekend looking for a place to park should have no issue finding a spot, given they are willing to pay for one.

A new report from city administration indicates 46.7 percent of private land in Regina’s downtown is being used for parking lots.

Regina Mayor Sandra Masters says she’d prefer to see buildings going up in these seemingly empty lots being used for parking.

“I think as buildings get built, you have a requirement and a responsibility to build parking for whatever it is that’s going up,” Masters said. “We need buildings downtown; we want businesses, we want retail, and we want offices.”

Masters says the city truly doesn`t need this much parking in the downtown.

“You want your parking to be servicing either residents or businesses, and right now during COVID of course, we’ve got a lot of empty parking lots downtown, which is deeply concerning, but also understandable, given COVID.”

City council is now looking at their temporary parking lot approval process after some lots that received approval years ago have yet to be developed.

It comes as the city voted to approve a temporary parking lot at the former Capital Pointe site, and as council is set to review their approval procedure of temporary parking lots in the downtown.