Athabasca Town Council’s recent decision to restrict bus parking at the riverfront lot has been reversed.
After an uproar by bus drivers, and a delegation to council that filled the chamber with people, the motion to ban buses from the riverfront lot has been rescinded.
Council will arrange a meeting with the bus companies, boaters, tourism and the Chamber of Commerce to resolve the issue.
Bus driver and company owner Yvonne Cumbleton presented her side of the story to council last Tuesday.
“It always amazes me that every time there is a parking issue in this town, the school buses get blamed,” she said to council.
“This is the third time the town has suggested or tried to keep school buses off of the riverfront.”
Cumbleton couldn’t believe council had not asked the bus drivers for input before making this decision.
“As I look around the room this evening, there are a lot of well-educated people in attendance, and I can’t believe that not one of you came up with the idea to invite the two bus companies in town to see if we could come up with a compromise to the parking issues on the riverfront,” she said. “The Town does not realize that the buses in town are privately owned. I make my living with these buses, this is my business.”
Cumbleton said that this time the town is restricting parking to give more parking spaces to the tourists and boaters.
“The town’s solution is to forbid school buses from parking on the riverfront and to have us park by the Athabasca Landing Pool,” she said. “You are also creating another parking problem with the Nancy Appleby Theatre, the Athabasca Landing Pool, the Seniors Centre, the Legion, the Library, FCSS Student Centre, the Pottery Club, and the archives.”
Cumbleton said she has lived in this community for the past 48 years, and has operated buses for more than 30 years.
“It would take too long to name all of the local businesses that I have worked with, the number of local events my business has supported and all of the children and families in this community I have come to know, doing what I love to do,” she explained.
“We park on the riverfront during breaks in this hectic schedule because it allows us to support our downtown businesses. We buy groceries, shop in the stores, go for lunch, pick up coffees, pick up our mail, and so on.”
Cumbleton said she felt the town was targeting the buses because they are highly visible.
“Most weekdays there are only one or two buses parked at the riverfront for the whole day, and that is because both those drivers work a second job at Buy-Low,” she said. “Otherwise, buses come in, pick up groceries, run a few errands and leave.”
Cumbleton said she wasn’t trying to hide the fact that parking at the riverfront was for convenience.
“It is a close and easy walk to businesses in the downtown area. Personally, I seldom go a day that I have not purchased something in the downtown area because it is convenient,” she said. “So if you force us to park at the pool, you take away the convenience of shopping in Athabasca.”
Cumbleton said that after council restricted parking at the riverfront lot, the bus drivers were forced to find other places to park their buses.
“We parked by Buy-Low and Sears,” she said. “It’s a safety concern. Do you know how many people gave us the finger for parking there?”
When large vehicles park in front of Sears and Buy-Low, it obstructs drivers’ view of the highway.
Councillor Paula Evans was opposed to rescinding the motion to allow buses to park at the riverfront because the lot was not designed for buses.
“I hope all of the information I shared tonight helps council realize that stopping buses from parking at the riverfront 365 days a year is not a solution,” Cumbleton said. “By working together to come up with a fair compromise, we can establish a win-win situation for everyone.”
