A lack of available parking spaces is driving up frustration levels in some Gordon Head neighbourhoods.
Struggling to find a parking spot after a long day’s work or when company is coming to visit can be one of the irritating parts of modern life. So it’s easy to sympathize with residents along Edgelow Street and others in the vicinity of the University of Victoria who must face that situation on a regular basis.
A small group of those residents beat a path to Saanich council chambers to seek some relief from their congested neighbourhoods.
The residents said it’s not just UVic students who are taking up available parking on the nearby streets, as some report seeing employees park several cars along the street and then carpool to the university while others have observed bicycles being brought out of parked vehicles.
And it’s not just the neighbourhood’s frustration with a lack of parking spaces that is fuelling the residents’ ire, safety has become a legitimate concern.
“When people park on either side of my driveway and I have to edge out slowly, I’m almost in the middle of the road before I can turn,” Ian Danks, who has lived on Edgelow for 33 years, told council.
The residents are calling on council to restrict parking in the area to residential only. Acting mayor Susan Brice promised surveys will be conducted in the fall once school is back in session that would support a larger review of parking in the area surrounding the university.
While it is entirely appropriate for the district to conduct a survey to determine the scope of the issue, there’s no denying a problem exists. There’s no need for residents to be left idling. Council should advise staff to prepare a plan to implement residential only parking in the area once the study is concluded.
