Dear Editor,
Re: “Ticketed during Bike to Work week,” News, June 2, 2017.
My family resides in the 3100 block of Francis Road and, like many of our neighbours, we have been frustrated with the parking situation on our street.
Although our row of detached houses have double garages, we do not have any space for visitor parking – be it for a friend, family member, gardener, electrician, etc.
The parking situation outside our front steps has been a terrible nuisance whenever we need the parking space, particularly when our visitors are elderly, have small children, or need to carry heavy equipment.
Given that the parking space is directly in front of our residences, it is unacceptable for those visiting our homes to have to park a block down the street simply because those from the townhouses behind us do not want to use their own visitor parking stalls.
The bylaw clearly states that one cannot park in front of someone else’s residence for more than three hours between 8 a.m.-6 p.m., supporting the idea that because these parking spaces are in front of our residences, we should have first priority in their use.
As mentioned in the article, such time limits are to prevent people from utilizing these spaces for their own personal conveniences, which is precisely what people such as Mr. Ribi have been doing.
Additionally, he mentions in the article that there is “no shortage of street parking around [the house] during the day, with the streets remaining practically empty.”
By looking just from our windows, we can confirm that this is not the case.
Although the number of parked cars obviously varies, as the day progresses and particularly on the weekends, our street is congested from end to end with parked cars. Some of these cars do not move for days and remain parked directly in front of our doors.
Although we commend Mr. Ribi’s attempts to contribute to the environment, performing a good deed does not excuse the inconvenience one’s actions brings on others.
This is an issue that the townhouse strata members need to discuss and resolve on their own by properly utilizing the visitor parking stalls that they have available.
Jocelyn Lau
Richmond
