'Paving Paradise...'
- kc dyer
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Residents Fired Up Over Staff's New Parking Proposal
Resident reaction was swift and united in response to proposed changes to parking in the Village.
After the agenda for Tuesday's regular Council meeting became available last Friday, a number of residents reached out to The Watershed to express their concerns.
The two principle areas of concern were proposals to:
increase the number of parking spots along Mountain and Timbertop Drives, and
re-allocate some residential parking spots to pay parking during daytime hours.
Mountain Drive resident Rebecca Caspersen expressed dismay at the proposal.
"Increasing parking does nothing to address the volume of traffic in our area. It, in fact, does the opposite," she said in a letter directed to Council and copied to The Watershed. "Adding parking for visitors within the upper village area AND reducing resident parking on certain days will only exacerbate the issues with traffic, speeding and parking for residents. Why would this even be considered?"
Long-time resident Gail Craig, whose home lies near the T-intersection between Mountain and Sunset Drives echoed Caspersen's concerns. "A proposal to increase parking spots only escalates the issues of high traffic volume, speeding and parking for residents in the upper village area," Craig said. "This new report does nothing to address the issues of the neighbourhood residents that were raised and reported previously in a council report."
One resident took to social media this weekend to post pictures of the garbage that visitors had left behind.
"We got some gifts from hikers this weekend. Mostly along Mountain Drive, an area that needs to be changed to resident-only parking.," he commented.
Bayview Road resident Norma Rodgers is also concerned. "Today I watched a car with hikers stopped on Mountain with flashers on as they waited for a spot to become available. Three preteens, one on a scooter and two on electric bikes, whizzed by just before a car swerved around the parked car to get past. I had to wait until all hiker traffic passed before I was able to keep walking with my dog. Children, seniors and dog walkers all flock to Mountain because it is one of only two flat roads in Lions Bay, and there are no sidewalks. Increasing traffic on this road is a severe safety hazard."
Mountain Drive resident Christine Little's letter to Mayor and Council (and copied to The Watershed) was signed by more than 45 residents of Mountain, Sunset and Timbertop. These residents asked that Council:
Reject recommendations 3, 4 and 5 of the staff report; not fill the ditches along Mountain Drive, not widen the shoulder at Timbertop and not reclassify the restricted parking on Sunset or Mountain Drive.
Direct staff to focus parking demand management exclusively on relocating visitor parking out of the residential village, including a defined-timeline status report on MOTI and MLA discussions regarding Pit Parking and on shuttle and park-and-ride options.
Strengthen, not weaken, resident-only daytime restrictions on Mountain Drive and Sunset Drive while relocation is pursued.
Little stated that upper Lions Bay residents have no problem with visitors accessing the local public trails surrounding the village, but are opposed to absorbing more vehicles on residential streets. "The answer is not to fit more cars into the village," she said. "The answer is to move the parking out of it."
Council addressed the issue at the May 5 meeting when Director of Operations Eric Villeneuve brought the recommendations forward. A number of residents of Sunset Drive attended in person, to register their objections to the proposed parking changes.
Online, Stephanie Leavitt said that as a resident of Mountain Drive, she is adamantly opposed to adding more paid parking. "This is one of the few straight streets that residents have for elderly people to walk and kids to learn how to ride their bikes and people walk their dogs," she said. "It feels like we are paving paradise to put up a parking lot."
After discussion, Council defeated the parking recommendations.
When addressing correspondence received, Councillor Neville Abbott acknowledged the large number of Upper Lions Bay residents who reached out to Council, and thanked them for sharing their concerns.
Ultimately, Little said that residents are anxious to work with staff to find a solution.
"We look forward," she said, "to collaborating with you on a solution that truly meets the needs of visitors and residents alike."
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