Residents Request Alternative To One Side Only Parking
By Robert Thomas
Residents from the 1000 block and 1100 blocks of 2nd Avenue NW were out in full force on Tuesday evening at Council asking for an alternative hybrid parking solution on their streets instead of the proposed one side parking only.
The City is presently converting a number of narrower streets into one side parking only in order to allow emergency vehicles safe and unrestrictive access. The move is being done at the behest of the Moose Jaw Fire Department so streets conform to the National Fire Code.
“It is untenable to think about not being able to park in front of your own home,” Shelley Hill a resident of the 1100 block of 2nd Avenue NW told Council.
Hill appeared in hopes of convincing Council to allow residents of the 1000 and 1100 blocks of 2nd Avenue NW to park with two wheels up on the boulevard as an alternative to one-side parking only.
An area of the City owned boulevard has been bricked over to allow two wheel parking on the 1100 block of 2nd Avenue NW - MJ Independent photo
Hill said the City’s decision to move her street to one side of the street parking only would cause numerous problems for area residents.
She said residents understood the Fire Chief’s concerns about access as that is what his job was but Council’s job was to “look at the full picture of problems.”
Problems which included residents not being able to plug their vehicles in during the winter, people having to walk far with groceries to their home, or young moms with young children and due to the lack of parking on the street in front of their homes parking on Hall or Saskatchewan Street West where the city piled snow during the winter.
“For at least three months a year we have to plug our vehicles in. And if you are on the wrong side of the street that will never happen.”
Hill additionally claimed moving to one side only parking - even if just temporary until the street could widened when the cast iron water main replacement program took place - would have a very negative impact on home values.
“As far as re-sale value goes if you ask anyone would you consider buying a home that you can never park in front of and never can plug your vehicle in I would assume most people are going to say I am not even looking at that house,” she said, adding “it severely affects the property value in our blocks as well.”
Shelley Hill a resident of the 1100 block of 2nd Avenue NW addresses Council - MJ Independent photo
Hill asked Council not to go through with the change to one side only parking “but just allow us to park on the boulevard with two wheels up just until it gets fixed.”
She went on to claim there was sufficient room for fire trucks to navigate the street.
“Even with two wheels up on the boulevard there is room. We have measured the width of the fire tucks, we have measured the width of the street with big vehicles parked there, there was room.”
Hill said it came down to residents wanting to park in front of their own homes and plugging their vehicles in.
Alternative parking was not an option during the winter, she said.
“We can’t park on Hall (Street West) or Saskatchewan (Street West) in the winter because the City piles the snow up on the roads. So we can’t park on our own street and we can’t park on Hall and we can’t park on Saskatchewan (so) where do we park?”
Rosemarie Zaba Stewart, a resident of the 1000 block of 2nd Avenue NW, also addressed Council with her concerns about the street she lives on converting to one side parking only.
Zaba Stewart brought a petition to Council signed by concerned residents saying they agreed with the proposal to allow two wheels on the boulevard instead one side of the street parking only.
“We understand the Fire Chief’s concern about access, we do,” she said, adding “our street regularly sees fire trucks, (ambulances) and cube vans.”
She said some residents have driveways which allow vehicles to be plugged in while many others do not. And the proposal impacts those who can least afford it.
“Our block the 1000 block has 12 houses that don’t have parking and five homes that are multi-unit rentals most of those have young families. Unfortunately not all can afford a large lot or a garage on their lot it seems this one-sided parking might inadverdtently target middle to low income families.”
Rosemarie Zaba Stewart, a resident of the 1000 block of 2nd Avenue NW, addresses Council - MJ Independent photo
She also stated for the elderly and the disabled the proposed one side of the street parking increased challenges to accessing their homes.
“It could become a safety issue for them.”
The number of vehicles
“There is simply not enough room to accommodate the number of vehicles in our neighbourhood and parking on one side, especially in the ten hundred block with Central Collegiate just around the corner,” Zaba Stewart said.
She said one side of the street only parking would contribute to neighbours not getting along.
“So parking becomes impossible and it is going to pit neighbours against neighbours because people will be jockeying for spots to be as close as they can be to be in front of their own home…it will be unfair to everyone and I think it will create a lot of animosity in an otherwise friendly family filled neighbourhood.”
Francis Stewart, a resident of the 1000 block of 2nd Avenue NW, said he supported the two wheels on the boulevard proposal instead of one side of the street only parking.
Stewart said he had conducted a vehicle count of vehicles parked on the 1100 block at the same time of day and he had noticed a large number of vehicles already parked in front of homes at 3 pm.
“A total of 21 houses on the 1000 block NW and in the afternoon there was 17 vehicles,” he said, adding on subsequent days the number of vehicles was similar and many of the vehicles were the same vehicles he had seen the day before.
He asked Council to consider widening the street three feet on each side when the now crumbling curbs were replaced when the cast iron water mains were replaced the problems would be solved.
Francis Stewart, a resident of the 1000 block of 2nd Avenue NW, addresses Council - MJ Independent photo
“Other than that it is just going to lead to congestion. With 21 houses and 17 vehicles parked on a given afternoon when most people are working I can see the congestion will be much worse if you go for one sided parking,” he said.
Council Questions
Councillor Doug Blanc had some questions about the proposed parking with two wheels on the boulevard.
“How do you stop students from just parking on the street?,” Councillor Blanc asked, continuing “what sort of guarantee that students and guests will pull up on the top of a boulevard?”
Resident Hill replied “there is room now as it is for the fire trucks to get down the street regardless if there is two wheels on the boulevard or not. There is already enough room.”
She went on to state the narrower street was much safer than wider streets.
“Statistically speaking narrower streets are safer streets. People drive slower. They pay closer attention. And pedestrians are safer, bikers are safer and cars are safer if the streets are narrower. And there is a lot of data to support that. We are safer where we are.”
Hill said the way to control people driving two wheels up on the boulevard would be through signage something the City has to do when they go to the proposed one side parking only.
Councillor Crystal Froese said this wasn’t the first time the City dealt with narrow streets and one side only parking - she mentioned the 1100 block of 6th Avenue NW as having the same concerns when the parking was changed.
She asked if the City’s staff had spoken to the 2nd Avenue NW residents about the objections on how they were resolved.
Zaba Smith said she worked at SaskPolytech and there were a lot of people who were renters on 6th Avenue NW “that are students and so they walk…but the ones who have vehicles are not happy….so there are a lot of students who rent those houses right there.
It needs to be noted the 1100 block of 6th Avenue NW is majority of residents are in fact homeowners and the number of rental homes are in the minority.
“We see this parking on the curb, on the boulevard as a very temporary solution,” Hill said, adding “because we are hoping, we are anticipating the streets will be widened when the water mains are re-done and the curbs are rebuilt. It is just temporary.”
National Fire Code
Councillor Heather Eby thanked the presenters but brought up the point it was not Council, The Moose Jaw Fire Department, nor the City who were behind the initiative but the existing fire regulations.
“This is a fire code of Canada thing we didn’t just come up with this because…I believe it is called the National Fire Code of Canada I believe it is their rule. And they say I believe a street that is less than nine meters (wide) is not safe,” Councillor Eby said.
“We have to look at it from that point of view as well. So that makes it difficult…if something did (ever happen on this street) God forbid if it ever did, the seven of us are the ones who pay the price. Because we are the ones that will have had all of the recommendations, all of the experts tell us what we are suppose to do and then we are the ones that will have to defend a decision that potentially was catastrophic,” she said.
Zaba Stewart would comment later that several years prior there had been a fire on the 1000 block of 2nd Avenue NW and the fire department had been able to access and fight the fire successfully.
Councillor Eby said when the cast iron water main program is completed on a narrow street she would like to see the streets widened.
“However that is not free to the homeowner. That comes at a cost when that happens.”
Under the present policy the City is widening the narrow streets under a Local Improvement Program (LIP) where property owners have to pay a portion of the cost.
Homeowners may petition the LIP out, meaning the work will not be done, if 50 percent plus one of the total frontage signs a petition against the work.
Hill replied her research showed cities around the world had not embraced widening streets in character and historic areas.
“Those cities are fighting the same fight and winning because people are seeing the value of the historical parts of their cities,” she said adding a solution Moose Jaw might consider is the purchase of narrower fire trucks to navigate narrow streets.
Legalities
Mayor Clive Tolley said the issue was “a difficult one” because the average cost of widening the street when cast iron water mains are replaced will cost an average homeowner about $10,000 plus their was the complication of using an LIP when many homeowners would have added costs.
Mayor Tolley would ask if a motion could be made to allow people to allow people to park on the boulevard.
“It is actually illegal to park on the boulevard (under the Traffic Bylaw). So it would require a bylaw change to permit that to happen,” City Manager Jim Puffalt replied.
Mayor Tolley said he was in favour of allowing people to park with two wheels up on the boulevard because many people are already parking on boulevards at the present time in the Avenues.
He said he additionally supported the City providing curb cuts for free to affected homeowners but the cost of the actual driveway was the responsibility of the property owner.
The motions the Mayor supported need to navigate a trio of existing Bylaws.
Trio Of Bylaws Complicating The Matter
Parking on the boulevard is illegal under the Traffic Bylaw 5558 Section 24 (c) parking on a boulevard is illegal.
Under Boulevard Bylaw 5610 property owners whose properties abut a City boulevard are responsible for the boulevards care and maintenance. Residents are required to fill out a Boulevard Treatment Permit which is more than topsoil and seed.
Simply driving over the curb and parking on their lawn is illegal under a City bylaw (Zoning Bylaw 5552) passed in February 2018.
Support For Residents
Councillor Dawn Luhing said she supported the residents.
“To me if the residents say this isn’t necessary we should leave it the way it is. But that isn’t going to go over very well with the (National) Fire Code,” Councillor Luhning said.
She said it is difficult because there are rules but at the same time there residents who see things day after day and understand how their neighbourhoods work.
“I don’t support parking on the boulevard as that is illegal,” she said, adding “sometimes we need to consider how the residents feel, they know how their block works.”
Councillor Dawn Luhning - MJ Independent photo
Puffalt said the curb cut is being offered to assist residents.
“For those who don’t have driveways to give them an opportunity get off the street.”
He said the curb cut option was a good solution in an effort to try to accommodate parking - there are four homes on the 1100 block of 2nd Avenue NW who do not have a front or backyard driveway.
“This might at least be an option at a relatively small cost to us.”
Smaller Fire Trucks And Accessibility
Deputy Fire Chief Mike Russell was asked about the possibility of buying smaller fire trucks to accommodate narrow streets.
Deputy Chief Russell said most fire trucks are a standard size but the smaller trucks usually meant a reduction in water and pump capacity for the unit.
“It usually means a reduction in water and pump capacity which gives you less capacity (to fight a fire).”
Deputy Fire Chief Mike Russell answers questions from Council - MJ Independent photo
He made that point that although Google might give dimensions of a standard sized fire truck the dimensions do not include the mirrors which can stick out up to an additional two feet per side meaning more space is actually needed for the truck.
“When we back out of a 12 foot door we literally have inches on each side.”
Fire trucks are not all about navigating a street but firefighters need room to work effectively, he said when they arrive at an emergency.
“One thing we have to be very cognitive of is a fire truck may fit down a certain road but it also has to be operable. We have to be able to pull equipment off of that truck. We have to be (able to access) the sides of that truck. We have to be able to do our jobs.”
“The (National) Fire Code also states parking must not affect a fire truck,” the Deputy Chief said.
Liability A Concern
Councillor Eby asked the City Solicitor Andrew Svenson if there might be liability if Council agreed to the residents’ request and there was a catastrophic occurance.
“I would have a lot of liability concerns in that situation. Typically when it comes to public safety that you can wave or have an indemnity from (it)….the City would have some responsibility so I would have some concerns,” Svenson replied.
Later in the debate Councillor Eby said she could not support allowing parking with two wheels on the boulevard because the City would have a liability issue.
“It means every taxpayer
It Is Happening All Over
Councillor Kim Robinson asked how the motion allowing parking on the boulevard, if approved, would affect the streets already relegated to one side parking.
“I believe you would be setting a precedent if you allow it,” Puffalt responded.
Due to the potential impact on other neighbourhoods Councillor Robinson said he could not support the motion to allow two wheels parking on boulevards.
He could however support the motion for curb cuts.
Boulevard where someone drove on it - MJ Independent photo
Mayor Clive Tolley said with the number of people who presently park illegally on boulevards the City needs to face the reality and simply legalize what people are already doing.
“There are people on North Hill and Northeast Hill that are in violation of the laws that exist currently. All through the Avenues people are parking with two wheels on the boulevard. And some of them pour pads. Some put paving stones in. And some have gravel. And some have just chosen to drive up on the grass until it becomes dirt.”
“It is happening all through the Avenues and it seems to me we shouldn’t be putting our citizens in the position they are breaking the law in order to park and plug their car in in the winter,” the Mayor said, adding “I would rather see us change the bylaw and not make it illegal until we can come up in a way to park safely on their streets…I would rather have the law reflect what is actually going on.”
Council decided in a 7 - 0 vote because there was no immediate rush to make a decision there needed to be a review of applicable bylaws that the matter be referred back to Administration in order to craft a suitable bylaw to deal with the issue.
The City will not be converting the two blocks to one side only parking until September 1st.