The residents who live in a cul-de-sac in one inner-city Calgary neighbourhood are puzzled about why the city appeared to suddenly declare the entire area a no-parking zone.
Gabe O’Brien moved into the area in southeast Calgary four years ago and noticed a single ‘no parking’ sign posted at the end of the street.
When he asked, the city told him that it was to make sure no one parked within five metres of a fire hydrant on 15A Street S.E.
O’Brien and his neighbours obeyed the sign’s directions in regards to the fire hydrant, but two new signs soon appeared on the cul-de-sac.
“I looked out the window and there’s these new permanent no parking signs out in front of our house and I was really kind of confused.”
The signs result in a parking prohibition anywhere in the area and appeared to have been posted without any notice or reason.
O’Brien said he was told that the order to post the signs just came from the council office.
He says it is creating a problem where there wasn’t one.
“It worked well on our street when everyone had one car in back and one car in front and now it’s had a domino effect and it’s pushing everything back.”
City officials have a different take on the situation altogether and say that the parking restriction on the cul-de-sac is not new.
According to the city, it was declared a no parking zone back in 1977 and the signs were posted only after a residents called to ask about the parameters of the zone.
“The restriction was put in place in the cul-de-sac to allow a safe turning radius for vehicles as well as emergency services,” said Anna Melnick with Calgary Roads.
Melnick said no notice was given because there was no change made but the city is open to discussing parking issues with the residents of cul-de-sacs.
“Sometimes accommodations can be made to allow parking but that’s on a case-by-case basis,” she said.
In 2016, the city received 190 service requests from the public regarding city signage.
(With files from Lea Williams-Doherty)
