An ad hoc committee is forming to bring forth recommendations to address a strategy for parking on Railway Street after council met with business stakeholders to discuss the issue during the Jan. 5 council meeting.
An ad hoc committee is forming to bring forth recommendations to address a strategy for parking on Railway Street after council met with business stakeholders to discuss the issue during the Jan. 5 council meeting.
Mayor Nathan Anderson said he was hesitant at first about the idea of a committee because in the past it has been challenging for the Town to find interested residents to sit on committees. However, the enthusiasm from the nine business stakeholders present at the meeting seems to have changed his mind.
“A grass routes initiative is way better than a top down because they're so close to the issue,” Anderson said. “It effects their lives everyday from sunrise to sunset.”
About a year ago, council changed the angle of parking on the west side of Railway Street, making it steeper so cars didn't stick out in the road as much. That change resulted in the loss of some parking spaces.
Soon after, a few concerned business owners approached council with a petition signed by businesses along Railways street.
However, council opted to move forward with the angle parking despite the petition.
The issue went quiet for about eight months, Anderson noted, before more concerned businesses approached council.
A motion was passed during the Nov. 17, 2015, council meeting to change the angle of parking on the west side and implement a 15-minute parking limit on the east side. This was hoped to widen the road by having less cars parked, making snow removal easier.
“Whether that was the right decision or not, I don't know,” Anderson said. “Everything you do there is a negative.
“If you do nothing there is a negative.”
The community backlash at the 15-minute limit was almost instant and council rescinded the limit on Dec. 15, 2015.
Major issue discussed at the Jan. 5 meeting were the likelihood of increased in parking issues as the town grows and establishing an effective snow route.
With 15-minute parking signs costing about $38 each, Anderson called this one of Crossfield's “least expensive mistakes.”
“We generally make good decisions and are good stewards, but sometimes we blow it,” Anderson said. “That was one of those times.”
Though the Town will work towards marketing the gravel parking lot across from Crossfield Automotive, which none of the business owners knew was available for parking, it will ultimately be up to the ad hoc committee to meet over the next six months and present council with recommendations on a strategy.
Anderson said if the committee continues to meet and work together, it is likely they will come up with a better solution than council might have. However, he is unsure if there is ever going to be one choice in this matter that will make everyone happy.
“I think they got a tiger by the tail,” he said. “It's one of those things where I don't know if there's a good solution.”
