Councillors back street parking near mosque
Outgoing councillor says opposition to mosque’s request ‘just not right’
Parking is allowed for a few hours on days of worship on the streets surrounding many Windsor churches, so why is allowing the Windsor Mosque the same privilege such a big deal?
It’s a question Ward 10 Coun. Paul Borrelli asked Monday night, as he made a motion to temporary solve the parking headaches around the mosque during Friday prayers. In a diverse city like Windsor, he said, “there is no room for xenophobia.” His motion passed in a 10-1 vote, with Coun. Rino Bortolin being the lone dissenter. But it was vehemently opposed by longtime residents living on the nearby streets like McKay, Curry, Everts and Mark. In 2017, 76 per cent of the residents in those neighbourhoods signed a petition opposing the parking change. They said Monday the change would turn their streets into parking lots, threaten the safety of children, devalue their homes and prevent fire trucks and ambulances from gaining access in an emergency. “Some of the arguments are justifiable. However, some of the arguments mentioned to me are not justifiable and lack a sense of fairness and goodwill that’s needed to sustain a peaceful and healthy community,” said Borrelli, who was participating in his last city council meeting after being defeated in the Oct. 22 election. City officials and Borrelli, who has represented the Dominion/ Northwood area, have been coping with this controversial issue for two years, as growing numbers at the mosque, nearby Holy Names high school and Northwood elementary create traffic headaches in the neighbourhood. To blame just one of these entities is “just not right,” Borrelli said.
All they’re asking is to be able to park on a city street for several hours on their day of worship, he added.
“I don’t think what’s being asked is unreasonable.”
But resident Brian Nicholls said allowing the parking is a “monumental safety issue for residents,” and asserted that council would be violating their rights under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“If the city grants this special privilege to the mosque to park on Friday, then our right to peace and quiet will be violated,” he said. “We don’t want our streets turned into parking lots,” said Uga Rose, whose family has lived in the area for more than 50 years. “What you are asking is not reasonable and adds to our stress level.” Jim Morrison, elected to replace Borrelli as Ward 10 councillor, said people who don’t live in the area don’t understand how bad the situation is.
“People can’t get through, people can’t walk, people can’t drive,” said Morrison, who lives nearby. “It’s not because the residents don’t want to be neighbourly. They’re just frustrated and they feel like they’ve had enough.” The final decision was to allow parking on Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Mayor Drew Dilkens said he understands this solution isn’t ideal. “But with limited options in front of us, this is the option that is the least expensive, that gives people time to find solutions, and I think it’s a fair option given the circumstances,” Dilkens said. The extra 120 spots are needed because the already bad parking situation will get worse as the city moves forward with its plan to eliminate (47 parking spots) on Dominion Boulevard between Northwood and E.C. Row Expressway as part of its plan to redesign the roadway and the Dominion/ Northwood intersection. About 3,500 attend prayers at the mosque on Fridays. Mosque leadership knows the parking problem is an inconvenience to residents, Windsor Islamic Association president Mirza Baig told council.
But he implored the neighbours to think of everyone involved — mosque goers and neighbours — as a family.
“If a member of a family has special needs, the family tries to accommodate those needs. What we are asking is very small — five hours in a week.”
The Islamic Centre’s public relations director Sinan Yasarlar listed all the measures taken to try to alleviate parking problems, including encouraging carpooling and suggesting people attend mosques nearer to where they live. They ’ve purchased a lot at Northwood and Dominion that could hold about 60 cars and the city has considered letting them use an unused right of way that could hold 50 cars. But city engineers fear that, until the roadway and intersection are redesigned, turning those properties into parking lots would only cause more traffic problems in the congested area.