Public will get to comment on removing overnight parking ban
Sarnia — By JD Booth on April 18, 2012 at 6:06 pm
Members of the public have until May 3 to comment by e-mail on the idea of removing a ban on overnight parking beginning May 1 of next year and running through October 31—and then on an ongoing basis.
An e-mail has been set up for the purpose of commenting on the proposal (overnightparking@sarnia.ca) and an open house is planned for April 26 (6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., committee room 2 at city hall). The public is encouraged to bring any questions to that session.
A decision on lifting the ban (as was recommended by city staff) was deferred to the May 14 meeting of city council.
The report on the issue can be seen here.
Tags: ban lifted, City of, overnight parking, proposal deferred, public comments, Sarnia
Tags: ban lifted, City of, overnight parking, proposal deferred, public comments, Sarnia
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5 Comments
Yes! I work downtown, and as we all now it, parking is a craze. Let’s face it – there’s not much to do in sarnia. There has been a lot of effort put into downtown recently o give us all nice places to go, but really…. What are you to do if you want to have a few drinks?! People get trashed on weekends and by deciding to be responsible and not drive home, they have to face a ticket. I think it’s ridiculous and I believe I speak for many people.
I have long found our overnight parking ban to be a nuisance and a money grab. Aside from the times that I have had a few unexpected drinks and had to find an alternate way home, there has been a time or two where we forgot to pull our second vehicle in the driveway, and paying for a simple mistake like that is no fun.
But another issue to consider is how many jobs will be lost and how much revenue will be lost for the city? A few months ago, I would have hands down voted for this issue, but with the loss of NCO, the OLG slots, the jail and various other small business, I’m not sure it’s in our best interest at this point in time.
It is my opinion that revenue aside, there is no justifiable reason for continuing the ban on overnight parking during the warm weather seasons, as clearly the reason given for having it, is the practicality of snowplowing city streets. In the absence of a need, it seems to me – foolish to continue with a practice, simply because that’s the way it’s always been. The fact that the by-law has been a source of revenue (great or small), is simply not justifiable, on any level! Surely the cost to enforce the by-law must be an argument in favour of dropping the ban during snow-free months. It really is just that simple.
I love the parking ban! I think they should raise the cost of the penalty for parking on the street!
The overnight parking ban needs to go.
The revenue is unpredictable and not a solid source to count on. 44k sounds like a lot but really, if that number is accurate, it’s not that much for a municipality and there are all sorts of ways revenue can be raised.
All the arguments that need to be made have been mentioned already. The law serves no purpose during most of the months of the year apart from being a major inconvenience and possible encouragement of drunk driving as previously hinted at.