BARRHEAD - The Town of Barrhead needs more accessible parking stalls in the downtown core.
The question is how they can achieve that without adding to another problem — the shortage of parking spots at peak times.
Councillors debated that question for the second time in just over a month during their Jan. 26 council meeting.
The issue first came to councillor's attention Dec. 13 when they discussed whether or not they should grant a request from a business on Main Street (Peoples Pharmacy) to add two accessible parking stalls in front of their business. Council denied the request but asked administration to draft a parking plan for Main Street.
Councillors stated concerns about setting a precedent and having the other two pharmacies on the street make the same request to taking away the already limited number of parking stalls as accessible spots are larger.
The result, which was presented to council by chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc, was a map of the downtown core showing the location of accessible parking spots, including those in business parking lots and schools.
Council approved the map as information and instructed administration to draft a more detailed parking plan including recommendations on how the municipality could increase the number of accessible parking stalls.
Coun. Dausen Kluin said now is the perfect time for the municipality to conduct a detailed parking plan for the downtown core, especially for Main Street, as it is slated for revitalization this summer.
In late September, councillors unanimously accepted a proposal from the public works department to use the $544,302 the municipality has been allotted as part of the province's Municipal Stimulus Program (MSP) to rehabilitate Main Street as well as graveling a one-block section of 45th Street. They would change the latter proposal to asphalt.
Kluin, who suffers from cerebral palsy and walks with the aid of a walker, said Main Street needs more accessible parking noting the vast majority of accessible parking stalls are on adjacent streets. The only accessible parking spot on Main Street listed is near the intersection of 50th Avenue.
His suggestion was to have to reserve one angled accessible parking stalls at the end of every block, singling out the four-way stop intersection at 51 Avenue in particular. A typical parking angled stall is between 2.4 and 2.6 metres wide, while for an accessible parking stall it is roughly double.
"If I am the driver or a passenger, there is room to swing out my door and not hit any other vehicles and the [slope to the sidewalk] is right there on the corner," Kluin said, adding he would like to be included in any discussion if the municipality drafts a parking plan.
Coun. Don Smith believed Kluin's proposal had merit or at the very least warranted investigation.
"It might even be part of a bigger conversation involving multiple departments because we might come up with something even better. If we can use more [accessible stalls] down there, let's get it done because this is a perfect time," he said.
