Regina man asks city to crack down on people parking on lawns near university

A Regina man says his community members want the city to do more to prevent peoplefrom parking on their lawns.

Brian Black lives in the Whitmore Park and Hillsdale area, and he presented concerns on behalf of community associations from the areato city council last night.

His neighbourhood is near the University of Regina, where demand for parking is high. It's an area where many tenants livein rented housing, while numerous streets closer to the university have become no-parking zones to deter students and staff from parking there.

"The majority of the owners of the houses along these streets chose this and the City of Regina has established signage and enforcement of the streets by issuing parking tickets to anyone that parks on the streets," wrote Black in his submission to city council.

This has led to another parking problem in the neighbourhood, Black said.

Because there is not enough driveway space for tenants living inrented housesand street parking is not available, residents have resorted to parking on lawns.

Parking bylaws in the city restrict parking to driveways and other "defined parking areas." It is notallowed on landscaped areas, such as lawns. Part of the aim is to maintain the aesthetic quality of city streets.

Black said that's the problem he sees.

Regina residents parking on lawns

7 years ago

Duration 0:24

The City of Regina wants to crack down on people parking on residential lawns.

"Now instead of attractive front and corner-lot yards, there are deep ruts and dead grass in lawns from vehicles driving back and forth across sidewalks, challenging the well-being of pedestrians, especially the elderly and the young."

Black would like to see the city do more to enforce bylaws that prohibit parking on front lawns and other non-designated parking spaces.

He also said with current procedures, it can take as long as five months for instances of front yard parking to be resolved.

"Why does it take so long?" asked Black in his submission.

"Vehicles driving back and forth across non-permitted areas of the city's boulevards next to public sidewalks is a clear safety violation and should be enforceable within a couple of days to protect vulnerable pedestrians."

Parking tickets a no-go

Louise Folk, the city's director of development services, said the municipality isaware thatimproper parking is an issue in theHillsdaleandWhitmorePark neighbourhoods.

She said workers respond to bylaw complaints regularly in the area in hopeshomeowners will voluntarily comply.

"Currently, if the property owner does not voluntarily comply with city regulations for front yard parking, the city must follow a process defined in provincial legislation which involves issuing a legal order," she said in an email toCBC."The property owner has the right to appeal this order, which can add several months to the process to resolve the complaint."

Theemail said it is not possible to enforce illegal parking in front yards by issuing a parking ticket.

Changes to the bylaws that would help address the problem are under consideration.