It doesn’t make a lot of sense to ban overnight parking on city streets all winter when there’s a significant snowfall on only a handful of occasions. That’s the stance of Ward 2’s Coun. Rodrigo Goller who is seeking council’s support to take a look at options around lifting the restriction.
“Instead of having four months of no (overnight) parking, we can just have a few instances when the plows are actually out and about,” he told GuelphToday. “When a bylaw doesn’t really make sense, I think it’s worth exploring to see if we can remove that burden of people being ticketed when there is no snow on the ground.”
Goller issued a notice of motion last month that, if ultimately approved, could see the blanket ban replaced with a notification system to let residents know when temporary parking restrictions are in effect. Similar technology, he pointed out, is already in place for solid waste and other city services.
Currently, on-street parking is prohibited throughout the city from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. beginning on Dec. 1 and ending April 1.
“It’s a reality here that housing is expensive. Most households do require two working adults to maintain the household, so we have this overflow of parking that is happening throughout the city,” Goller said, noting many townhomes and apartment buildings don’t have enough parking to accommodate everyone.
“There are so many families that are inconvenienced. It’s not just having to park a block away, it’s people who find themselves without options and then they get several parking tickets throughout the winter because they’re parking their cars illegally on streets overnight.”
The issue is made worse by the “consistent” requests from developers for reductions to the number of required parking spaces, he continued.
“As we seek to build more high density and mixed density communities, one of the things that we’re seeing from developers coming forward is always reductions to parking.”
Since issuing his notice of motion last month, Goller said he’s been contacted by a couple dozen residents – some in support, some opposed. Proponents told him they were tired of “begging and pleading” to find places to park, while opponents flagged concerns with narrow roads and emergency vehicle access.
“I believe it could be possible to find ways to allow some streets to have parking year-round,” he said, acknowledging there will be streets that “need to have” the four-month parking restriction.
“I think it’s worth having a conversation.”
Council will decide on Monday, without debate, if Goller’s motion has merit. If so, it will go to the Nov. 2 Committee of the Whole meeting for discussion. If approved there, and subsequently ratified by council, city staff will launch into a review and prepare a report with recommendations for council.
In short, even if it passes next week’s hurdle there’s a long road ahead. That’s why Goller proposes any changes be implemented ahead of December 2021.
