The City of Airdrie’s Traffic Advisory Committee (TAC) will look into an Airdrie resident’s request to have No Parking signs installed on a portion of Luxstone Square SW for a third time.
Jason Gunn, who lives on Luxstone Square, told City council during its Dec. 5 meeting when vehicles are parked on both sides of a portion of the street there is hardly enough room for two vehicles to drive through.
He requested the installation of No Parking signs on both the north and south corners of Luxstone Square where it intersects with Luxstone Boulevard SW. The No Parking zone he requested is equal to the length of seven vehicles.
He said he measured the width of the road as 9.14 metres or 30 feet and the average car width – from mirror-to-mirror with an extra few inches for passing room – as 2.5 metres or 8.2 feet.
There are 123 housing units on Luxstone Square and only one access point to the street. Gunn said those units include 53 single detached family dwellings and 70 townhouse units, adding each unit has an average of 1.5 vehicles.
Residents living on Luxstone Square created a petition for No Parking signs and Gunn told council the group approached TAC twice but its request was declined both times.
“This is a situation that occurs probably in dozens, if not even hundreds of intersections around Airdrie,” said Lorne Stevens, the City’s director of infrastructure and chair of TAC. “Sterilizing parking in closed residential areas typically results in that parking being displaced and creating issues elsewhere.”
Councillor Fred Burley asked Gunn what people are parking there for. Gunn said a majority of them are residents of the townhouses but there are already two designated parking spots for each unit.
Burley asked Stevens how many units would be required for the construction of a second access point to Luxstone Square. Stevens said he believed it would be 125.
Council passed a motion for TAC to bring a report back to council with further details on Gunn’s request. Stevens said TAC will aim to bring it to council in January.
“Please consider this request for the safety of our children, protection of residents’ investments and overall community support regarding this matter,” Gunn said.
