Driveway Placement Decides Which Side Of Street Will Have Parking

The issue of one sided parking on narrow streets brought an enquiry at last Monday afternoon’s regular meeting of Council as to why on two blocks the side, where the parking will be where the fire hydrants are.What

Councillor Jamey Logan asked a question about the progress of one-sided parking - deferred in 2022 for some residents for a year and additional blocks being converted in 2023 - which is being enacted on streets less than nine.meters in width to conform with national fire safety codes.

“The 1100 and 1200 blocks of 2nd Avenue NW state one sided parking on the west side however there are three hydrants on that side so why would do that?” Councillor Logan asked.

“Some say consistency but I disagree with that. My question to you is…why would we enforce one-sided parking on the same side as the hydrants?” he asked.

Councillor Jamey Logan asked a question about why the one-sided parking initiative will see the fire hydrant side of the 1100 and 1200 blocks of 2nd Avenue NW be the side where parking will be allowed - MJ Independent photo

Moose Jaw Fire Chief said the issue was a examine extensively before the decision was made to place the parking on the fire hydrant side of the street.

Chief Montgomery said ultimately an existing driveway decided the issue.

“When we were originally looking at the process, we felt certainly consistency was one of them but also a variance there with hydrants placement,” he said, adding “Two (fire hydrants) are on the corner and one is mid block. And when you look at that one hydrant, there is a parking driveway going into the residence, so we really felt the barrier or the issue with that hydrant isn’t so much an issue so to speak. Because you already have the buffer of the driveway anyhow so nobody can park there.”

The 1100 and 1200 blocks of 2nd Avenue NW were slated to be converted to one-sided parking as a safety issue in 2022.

Residents approached Council in 2022 to request people be allowed to park up on the boulevards to allow for sufficient space to accommodate emergency vehicles. Council denied the request.

Council at the time deferred the parking change for a year to allow the residents time to adjust and find other places to park their vehicles.

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 file photo

See Related - Residents Request Alternative To One Side Only Parking