Village parking options
Introduce paid parking in the Pointe-Claire Village at your peril. That was the consensus of the 30 residents and merchants who attended a recent consultation on the parking situation in the village.
“There will be torches and pitchforks in the streets,” resident Ron Williams joked. The comment was made in jest, but the message itself was no punch line.
Williams reminded people of the all-out revolt in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue in 2006 when 190 parking meters were installed in an attempt to ease the parking crunch. Bill Tierney was the town’s mayor at the time. He was voted out in the next election and the West Island Gazette cited the parking meter decision as one of the reasons for his defeat.
Pointe-Claire Village is a charming destination for shopping, eating and grabbing a drink. But with a mix of private parking lots, public parking lots hidden from view and choice on-street parking spots grabbed for the day by employees, business owners or drivers who park and ride the bus into town, finding a parking spot can be a challenge. The parking lot adjacent to the now-closed Pioneer bar and restaurant is slated for residential development and there is talk of relocating a lake-adjacent parking lot in Alexandre-Bourgeau Park. Both plans have experienced opposition.
Addressing parking in the Pointe-Claire Village is part of the ongoing implementation of the village’s Special Planning Program. Two parking-management experts hired by the city to do the research presented a parking portrait during the Wednesday gathering.
According to the data, there are 1,165 parking spots in the village — a mix of private and public, onstreet and off-street. All parking is free. The research showed that the village may well have enough parking spots, but how they are used is inefficient. The gathering was told that when parking is free, people are more likely to take advantage, even when the parking signs show a time limit.
On-site analysis was done in May. One criticism of the analysis voiced last week was that its scope was inadequate, that winter offers its own set of challenges, with snow clogging the streets and Christmas parties at restaurants increasing car volume and parking headaches. One merchant said there are five seasons in the village — winter, spring, summer, fall and Christmas — each experiencing its unique shift in parking patterns.
Participants were asked to list possible solutions to the problem, which included introducing stricter time limits for coveted parking spots and enforcing the limits; posting signage that clearly indicates where out-of-sight parking is available; enforcing the number of parking spaces allotted new businesses; creating an employee parking area which does not infringe on popular store-adjacent spots; saving the Pioneer-adjacent parking lot from development and studying ways to share private parking although, if that were to happen, issues of liability, maintenance and taxation would have to be considered.
Last week, the city launched a pilot-project website its who we are. pointe-claire.ca to keep residents informed about the progress of the SPPs for both Pointe-Claire and Valois villages. Residents may post suggestions or ask questions about parking in the Pointe-Claire Village until Sept. 15.