By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Unclear regulations in the town’s winter-parking bylaw have the potential to cause big headaches in certain Cobourg neighbourhoods, council heard at this week’s committee-of-the-whole session.
Resident Paige Wiggans expressed concern specifically about the Denton Drive area, given the bylaw’s prohibition on parking on the street between Nov. 1 and March 31 in the case of cul de sacs and wide corners.
Wiggans looked up the regulation on the town’s parking web page and, on Nov. 18, called the town to ask about what she found – that parking on those streets with cul de sacs and wide corners is not permitted. By contrast, the bylaw seems to state that parking is not allowed just on the cul-de-sac and wide-angle areas only.
With nothing but wide-angled and cul-de-sac streets near Denton Drive, Wiggans asked where these residents should park. She received a suggestion that she park at the mall.
“My concern is that there’s no place to park in that area,” she summed up.
“Is it expected that we are supposed to park at the CCC if we are visiting family in that neighbourhood, and walk? What about providing services to people on Denton Drive?”
Municipal Clerk Brent Larmer said that any information or understanding that parking on the entire street in these instances is not allowed is wrong and must be corrected. While parking in the cul-de-sac and wide-angle areas is not allowed for ease of winter maintenance, Larmer said, parking elsewhere on these streets is permitted.
The revised winter parking bylaw was developed at a time last year when staff attention was more on changes to waterfront parking – otherwise, he said, a more education campaign might have been mounted to inform these residents of the situation.
Wiggans was pleased to hear the news.
“I really do appreciate the clarification, and it turns out we are on the same page,” she said.
