Editor, The News:
I would like to suggest that Maple Ridge implement an on-street parking permit.
This is a method used in many North America cities and is used to supplement operating funds and create a more safe access for emergency vehicles when neighbourhoods have become plugged with street parking.
My neighbourhood, for instance, between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., is difficult for a car to navigate, let along a fire truck.
I know it is human nature to avoid the requirement to purchase the ability to legally park on the street, but doing so would encourage people to use their driveways or garages in order to avoid purchasing an on-street parking permit.
For those who still wish street parking between 6 p.m. to 6 am. (overnight parking), they could pay either $50 for a permit or $100 for a ticket, issued by a bylaw officer, for each infraction.
I only suggest this because I feel it is becoming more and more dangerous as most of our neighbourhoods contain many secondary suites, which overwhelm the planned parking allotment when the subdivision was first planned.
Many homeowners don’t use their garages for parking, but instead for storage – a place to put junk.
Many homes with lane access to driveways, which are not used, park in the front of their homes, which adds to the ongoing problem.
Between the cost of permits and the issuing of fines, such a bylaw could generate enough money to pay for staff to enforce this bylaw – maybe even enough to contribute to the municipal operating budget.
Kevin Buell
Maple Ridge