A frustrated Saint Johner is getting a response from municipal politicians after posting a rant on Facebook last week.
Kristen Savoie lives in the city’s lower west side.
On Feb. 19, she took to a community Facebook page to express her frustration with the parking system that was recently implemented in her area: parking was permitted for 15 days a month on one side of the street and for the rest of the month parking was allowed on the other.
“I find this ridiculous,” she wrote in her post.
“This is a residential area already combatting a shortcoming of available parking and now people are allowed to leave their vehicles untouched in the same spot for 2 weeks.”
David Hickey, Councillor for Ward 3 in the city, reached out to Savoie to hear her out.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations around this new policy,” Hickey tells Global News.
“What we need to recognize is the uniqueness of this area of the city, the uniqueness of the west side.”
Savoie tagged Saint John Mayor Don Darling in her post, who responded by saying he was gathering information on the matter.
In an open letter posted to social media Tuesday, Darling stated: “Our sole focus must be addressing our deficit.”
“This means that we, as your council, may not be able to pass motions that do not address our sustainability for the next few months.”
That means it’s unlikely Savoie’s street parking will revert to the previous system before the snow is gone.
Hickey says it’s still important that she made her voice heard.
“I know myself, as a city councillor, I’m here to listen,” he says.
“We want to focus on that neighbourhood level to ensure that these residents are well taken care of, in the grand scheme of things.”