Parking lot proposed to replace Stony Plain Road meters

A battle over parking meters on Stony Plain Road between 124th and 127th Street has left the city searching for solutions.

Parking meters along the eastbound lane of the street can cause minor delays and unexpected lane changes at the best of times, as one lane is effectively shut down to traffic.

Traffic congestion is made worse by the closure of the 102nd Avenue Bridge in July, which has caused heavier than usual traffic along nearby detour routes — like Stony Plain Road.

This becomes an ever bigger issue during rush hour, when traffic congestion can cause significant delays.

While parking is not permitted at the meters between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, it’s not uncommon for someone to break the rules, say nearby business owners.

And the situation is now getting tense, said Cheryl Kasianiuk, owner of the Bosom Babies store located next to the metered parking spots.

"Really, I've never seen so many angry people, and they're expressing themselves with the horn of their car out there and they're just irritated and mad and angry all the time," she said.

Angry residents and drivers alike have taken to social media to complain and have also asked Mayor Don Iveson about the issue during the monthly Edmonton AM mayor phone-in.

Spokeswoman Kelly FitzGibbon said the city’s transportation department is aware of the problem and has a plan in place to remove 19 parking meters along the stretch of road. In their place, it would build a 15-stall paid parking lot at the northeast corner of 125th Street and Stony Plain Road.

But some think it shouldn’t need to come to that.

Tea Girl owner Sarah Proudlock says traffic wouldn’t be an issue if the city simply tweaked and enforced the no parking times.

"They've got a tow-away zone … and they don't tow — so [people] leave cars there during the rush hour,” she said.

Proudlock also said her customers regularly use the meters, which are right in front of her shop, and she worries about her business if the spots were taken away.

Kasianiuk said she worries for her customers’ safety if they are forced to park across the street in the proposed lot since the closest crosswalk has no light.

"If you try to cross that street about 5 or 6 o'clock … you'll barely make it across alive,” she said. “These are new moms with young babies and there are irate drivers out there and that combination is not good."

Property owners in the area will have a chance to appeal the city’s plan, which is currently slated to go into action in March.