Peterborough council temporarily parks new front lawn parking bylaw

Just where can you park your vehicle on your property in Peterborough?

That’s was the question city councillors grappled with at a planning committee meeting held Monday night, as a report from staff was tabled, recommending a ban on vehicles being parked on front and side lawns.

Monica Moran made a presentation in favour of the ban, as she was one of five delegates who spoke at council, she said there were more people in favour of the beefed up parking bylaw but says that some don’t want to speak and “ruffle the feathers of their neighbours.

“Just go around the city,” said Moran. “It’s definitely damaging and destroying our neighbourhoods…the lawns are being destructed as well as side yard boulevards.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Just go around the city," said Moran. "It's definitely damaging and destroying our neighbourhoods…the lawns are being destructed as well as side yard boulevards."

Karen Thaxter is a bus driver and spoke against the proposed bylaw, saying she parks her 20-seat school bus at home in her laneway but under the newly proposed bylaw this would be illegal.

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Thaxter said if she has to park at the bus depot she’ll be out gas money and pointed out that in all these years she has never had a complaint.

“It’s been 17 years,” said Thaxter. “I own this property and I’ve never had any issues or concerns.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's been 17 years," said Thaxter. "I own this property and I've never had any issues or concerns."

Under current regulations, city staff suggests parking on front lawns is illegal but says the current bylaws have some missing pieces and doesn’t allow them to properly enforce the issue.

Assistant planner Patrick Vusir presented the new report and results from a detailed study undertaken by staff and highlighted the new bylaw gives the city more leverage to enforce the issue and give its parking enforcement unit the right to go on someone’s lawn and leave a $35 ticket on vehicle windshields.

City staff stressed they would be flexible and early enforcement would be complaint-driven, suggesting warnings would be given prior to ticketing.

Still, some councillors believe there is more to the issue than the one-size-fits-all solution here.

Mayor Daryl Bennett says more information is needed.

“It’s pretty evident that we don’t have all the information we need and so I think it would be prudent to send this back to staff for more information,” he said.

Council agreed, voting to wait for more information and have staff examine it further and look at potentially introducing a street parking permit system while allowing curbs to be cut and laneways widened while examining what other municipalities have done to tackle the issue.

“I want us to get it right as we move forward and not get caught up in unforeseen problems,” said Town Ward councillor Dean Pappas.

A more thorough report will be looked at and brought back to council in 2018.