The City is looking at restricting parking on residential streets around the QEII Hospital after several complaints from residents.
Bruce Flynn brought his concerns to the Community Safety Committee again this morning, saying he has received threats from some of the people parking on his street.
“When they’re parked there all day, jamming up our neighbourhoods where our services can’t get done, that we have an issue with. It’s not the people that come visit at the hospital; it’s the people that park there eight, twelve hours a day.”
Much of the problem stems from staff that don’t want to pay for parking.
A public consultation on the matter in March found that the majority of those polled preferred getting rid of public parking around the hospital to having paid parking areas or leaving it how it is.
However, Mayor Bill Given says council knows it’s not the optimal solution.
“No matter what course of action we take, ultimately somebody will be inconvenienced or displeased. The intent of moving with this option to do sort of the most significant restrictions of parking was to provide that immediate resolution of the issue to the residents.”
Given adds, if approved, it puts pressure on Alberta Health Service to partner with them so come up with a solution.
In addition to fully restricting parking, committee also recommended further discussing the issue with AHS, as it has a responsibility as owner and employer.
Given does note, however, that the provincial government has made a significant investment with the building of a new hospital in Grande Prairie.