Edmonton firefighters battle narrow street in Terwillegar Towne

After entering a south Edmonton neighbourhood late Thursday evening, a city fire crew found themselves having a tough time getting out.

The vehicle was located near the driveway to the townhouse complex, located in Terwillegar Towne. At the time, both sides of the street were packed with cars.

READ MORE: Edmonton considers reducing parking restrictions for homes

The fire department said the incident, like all involving their crews, will be looked into.

“When you combine a bit of a narrower road with the fact that citizens – I’m going to say historically – do not have enough storage space for all their stuff, we end up with significant numbers of people in higher density neighbourhoods that load their garage up and end up pushing the car that should be parking in one or two stalls, onto their driveway,” area councillor Bryan Anderson said.

“If they don’t want to be on their driveway, they end up on the roads.”

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READ MORE: Queen Alexandra residents frustrated as parking space shrinks

Anderson said there are statements from the developer involved in planning those neighbourhoods that refer to proper design and traffic calming measures like narrower streetways, as a way to slash vehicle speed and increase pedestrian safety.

“Edmonton Fire Rescue is fully involved in the development of the roadways,” said Russell Croome, deputy fire chief of public safety.

Other departments are also included in the conversation as roadways and communities are planned. Though with winter fast approaching, snow windrows compound the issue.

“Whenever you’re parking and whether it’s in a public area or a private area – if it’s in an access to a building or a neighbourhood – make sure you leave ample room for any emergency vehicle,” Croome said.

The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), which represents 25,000 health care workers, including paramedics, said the issue is not exclusive to Terwillegar.

“It happens elsewhere in the city. It’s vital that when new communities are developed, they are designed so that emergency vehicles can get in and out without encountering obstacles,” Mike Parker, president of HSAA, said in a statement to Global News.

“We have to think about parking and access issues when we plan these communities. It’s not enough to have ineffective parking restrictions that aren’t enforceable. We need designs that provide enough parking space without blocking access.”