Independent Editor
Woolwich councillors have opted not to restrict parking on Pheasant Drive, in spite of recommendations from the township’s bylaw enforcement officer, Tanya Grieg.
That is because councillors heard from residents along Pheasant Drive who objected to having parking restrictions on their street, to deal with an overflow parking problem from the nearby Leisureworld Caregiving Centre.
Grieg had recommended limiting on-street parking to one side of the street, to reduce visibility concerns on the residential street.
John Bruder, who has lived on Pheasant Drive since 1980, told councillors that he didn’t think the parking problem was bad enough for this measure.
Bruder said he had contacted the township to find out more about the issue, and he had been told that there had been “a lot” of complaints about parking on the street. However, no one was able to tell him exactly how many complaints had been registered. In the end, Bruder could find evidence of only one homeowner complaining about the parking.
“Thirteen homes will be affected by the bylaw and one is complaining; the other 12 are silent, so it’s not an issue for us.”
Heidi Kelly, another resident on Pheasant, told councillors that she had complained in 2009 about people parking between the crosswalk lines, restricting pedestrian traffic. Kelly had not complained about parking in general.
She conducted a survey among residents of Pheasant Drive, and found most of them felt any problem with parking was caused by overflow parking from Leisureworld, and should be solved by the nursing home.
Kelly also kept track of on-street parking on Pheasant Drive, and noted that the maximum number of cars parked on the street in one day was six.
“I’ve yet to see any data to support this (parking restriction),” said Kelly.
She suggested that the real problem was when those parking park too close to the stop sign at Barnswallow Drive, affecting visibility.
Christine Broughton, township director of council and information services, told councillors that one of the concerns about parking on Pheasant is how it poses a problem to operations staff, as well as emergency vehicles.
However, the problem may be solved by enforcing current regulations against parking too near a stop sign.
Broughton also told councillors that Leisureworld, when it was first built, met the parking requirements that were in place at the time. Parking regulations have since changed, requiring more on-site parking for businesses such as nursing homes.
In the end, councillors decided not to restrict parking on Pheasant Drive.
They did, however, approve other changes recommended by Grieg.
Parking on the south side of Park Avenue West will be prohibited for the first 97 metres, to provide a better turning radius for operations and emergency vehicles.
And, the area in front of St. Teresa School on Front Street West will be changed to a no-stopping zone, to be consistent with policies in place at
other schools.
