Neighbours are divided after learning more permit parking spots are coming to the city’s east end by the end of this summer, CTV News Toronto has learned exclusively.
Some residents of the area are thrilled about the announcement while others are upset to learn that the remaining 10 per cent of residential streets will soon have more parking available along the curbs.
Currently, 90 per cent of residential streets in the area of The Beach and East York have permit parking, meaning owners can park in these spots at any time of the day. Meanwhile, other residents are forced to find different available spots each and every day.
“I can’t justify to some of my residents that they have to pay $204 a year to park on their streets and other residents don’t have to,” Toronto city councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon told CTV News Toronto.
Residents who currently have to search for non-permit parking in their neighbourhoods told CTV News Toronto that it’s not always easy.
“Probably once a week we have to go park on other streets,” resident Katharina Darisse said.
“We think it’s a very good thing for the area because we’ll benefit from having more parking options available.”
However, some residents believe the implementation of additional parking spots on their streets will cause more accidents.
“Streets that have two-way parking you can barely get through as it is and that’s where I feel like when I’m driving that’s where I get closest to getting into accidents,” resident Madeline Northfield said.
After the announcement came about, one of the affected streets came together to have 90 per cent of their residents sign a petition within an hour protesting the decision made by community council. Residents said they believe this decision was made without any prior consultation with those affected.
But, it is unclear what the outcome of the petition will be.
Along with McMahon, other downtown councillors are also considering adding more street parking for residents in their respective wards. A plan for 11 other wards to implement the same project will be discussed in the fall.
