RESIDENTS HAVE THEIR SAY

We asked Edmonton residents on Facebook and Twitter: Do residents have a right to be annoyed when parking on their front street is full? It prompted a vigorous debate, with more than 1,000 people participating. Here are a few comments:

Michael Hamilton: They have a right to be annoyed, but that shouldn’t necessarily prevent densification or prevent development. Street parking is not a right.

Rae Rachel Hall: It isn’t just about parking, safety is a concern as well. Many of the streets there have no sidewalks and cars race up and down residential streets searching for parking.

Roberta Franchuk: It’s not just parking for car storage. It’s dropping off people (children, seniors, people with mobility issues …) at your house. It’s getting deliveries. It’s visitors. Aaron Lee Osgoode (@Alo55Alo): Oh dear me … would someone have to park around the corner and walk … oh the humanity!

Derrick Forsythe: It’s about the cumulative effects of relaxations — in a three-block stretch from 115 - 113 Streets at 106 Avenue the city has granted 150 stalls worth of relaxed parking requirements … the area is at +100% capacity (city parking study) — madness. Janet Schmude: You don’t own the street. I get infuriated when people put chairs on the street during Folkfest to prevent you from parking. Especially when they have a garage and a driveway in the back alley. Leigh Niwa (@lauraniwa): I’m tired of businesses being limited by being *required* to have parking for cars. If your business model doesn’t require it (targeting active commuters, on busy transit etc.) why make it a restriction?