To the average citizen, city council meetings can seem especially administrative or even dull.
Hardly the place you’d expect to find a teenager.
But Saint John’s city council chambers is exactly where 18-year-old Erin Cusack could be found on Jan. 13, presenting ideas that might save local high school students from a few parking tickets.
“It was easy because I was presenting on something that I really care about,” she says.
The City of Saint John imposes a two-hour parking limit on most streets in the South/Central Peninsula, which includes the areas around both Saint John High School and St. Malachy’s Memorial High School.
Cusack, now an alumna of the former, says that’s not fair to students.
“It doesn’t make sense for students to have to worry about leaving class to go move their car.”
She’s also personally been ticketed on two separate occasions.
“The second time that I got a parking ticket was when the whole school was supposed to be in a mandatory assembly,” says Cusack.
Along with a few friends, Cusack assumed the assembly would wrap up in time to avoid the limit expiring — but it ran long.
“It got to the point where we were like, ‘we need to go move our cars, we’re going to get a ticket!’
“But we walked outside and all seven of us had a ticket.”
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Through New Brunswick’s IDEA Centre, Cusack began to channel her frustration with the system into an action plan.
“All I could think of is I could write pages on why the two-hour parking rule is unfair to students.”
As the idea snowballed through her work with IDEA Centre NB, Cusack arrived at two possible solutions.
“The first one would be an extension from the two hours to three or four for students specifically,” she explains.
“And the second solution was an all-day parking pass that they pay for monthly and it’s valid on school days from eight to four.
“Both options allow kids to stay in class until at least lunch when they have an hour to move.”
Saint John Coun. for Ward 1 Greg Norton says it’s rare council sees presentations from such a young citizen.
“It’s not very often,” he says, “in fact, it’s not happening enough.”
Norton took time at Monday’s council meeting to praise both Cusack’s hard work and the work IDEA Centre does with youth like her.
Council voted to refer Cusack’s ideas to the city’s Parking Commission, which is responsible for researching, planning, acquiring, building and maintaining parking through Saint John.
“And I understand something will be coming back to council for a rate and possibly a location on a street that’s close to Saint Malachy’s,” Norton says.
As for Saint John High School, Cusack made traction there before even getting to council.
“I also reached out to Port Saint John and did the same thing,” she says, “I proposed everything I proposed at common council.
To get that student rate, or take advantage of Cusack’s other proposed amendments, one need only provide proof that they are currently a high school student.
So with the council presentation behind her, what would Cusack say to another young-adult with an idea under their hat?
“I think it’s a great idea to present to common council. It is scary and nerve-racking but it’s really rewarding afterwards.”
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