Apologies and new guidelines may have come too late to fully restore a weekly Saanich car enthusiasts’ gathering this year, according to a long-time participant.
Bill Campbell, president of the Century Toppers car club, said a letter posted by Hansbraun Investments, owners of the Royal Oak Shopping Centre, is a positive but overdue step. Hot rod and classic cars have gathered at the shopping centre on Saturday evenings for years. But in July, several vehicles were ticketed.
“The final result is OK, but it’s kind of hidden. They only posted it on their web page and not on Facebook or in a media release,” Campbell said of the one-page letter from Hansbraun president Victoria Shannon. “The whole idea was to get it done in a week and try and deal with the issue when everyone was red hot. But it was delayed and people just got hotter.”
The temperature rose between the car owners and the property owner after Hansbraun had Robbins Parking issue $32 parking tickets to a number of cruise-in participants during one of the Saturday night events in July.
In all, Robbins handed out eight tickets. Many were later rescinded by Hansbraun after car owners spoke with the property manager. The company decided to issue tickets after there were merchant complaints and concerns over pedestrian safety in a clogged parking lot.
That decision was met with anger from the car community, threats of a boycott of merchants at the mall and plenty of vitriol on social media pages.
It also led to a dwindling number of cars turning up at Royal Oak on Saturday evenings.
Campbell estimates there are now between 10 to 15 turning up, down from an average of 40 or 50. Others have opted to drive out to a similar gathering in Langford.
Part of the problem, said Campbell, is visibility.
“Very few of the people who come out to look at the cars are members of the car clubs and they aren’t likely to be searching Hansbraun’s website for information,” Campbell said. He noted the letter from Hansbraun had been sent out to the various clubs in the city.
Hansbraun could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.
The letter, which was posted on the Hansbraun website Aug. 13, apologized for the ticketing incident and noted the company heard the concerns from participants and made policy changes to “accommodate and encourage the Saturday evening informal get-togethers.”
The letter goes on to say it is an invitation to the car community to continue to shop and have their coffee and meet with their friends at Royal Oak.
In the letter, Hansbraun did lay out some guidelines. The company asked that no area of the parking lot be cordoned off for extra seating and that sidewalks be kept clear and that parking for the cars be reserved in certain areas.
The cars are now to be parked in stalls bordering West Saanich Road, around the building that houses Francelli’s Coffee and a portion of the parking lot that serves Country Grocer.
Shannon also wrote she would like to invite the car community to work with Hansbraun to put on an organized year-end wrap-up event in September.
The weekly cruise-in has been a tradition and attracted as many as 200 classic and hot rod vehicles.
