The City of Windsor is moving forward with a pilot program to allow front yard parking within Ward 4.
Council met Monday with one report discussing allowing front yard parking within Ward 4 - with the exception of the Walkerville Heritage Area.
While administration recommended only receiving the report for information, council heard from a number of residents who expressed concerns with lack of available street parking due to growth in the area, as well as people utilizing the street parking when visiting nearby businesses. There were also safety concerns of utilizing back alleys due to an increase in crime.
The sentiment was the same from the delegates - the situation continues to get worse. Council decided to approve the pilot program.
Comments from council members mainly showcased support for this project, with many stating that if these residents have the room to allow for front yard parking that they should be allowed to do so.
Ward 4 city councillor, Mark McKenzie, says this is something he hears about weekly from residents.
"I think this is a practical solution, we don't have safe alleys. We've had issues every few months in alleys, this is a practical solution to give people driveways and especially in those areas where parking is already at a premium, it's going to help those residents immensely - especially those older residents too and the ones with mobility issues."
He says the process remains the same as any other area in the city.
"Administration will look at the application and they'll say 'okay, is there enough room there? Is there a tree in the way?', and those are things that are going to be looked at. So, it's not going to be a free-for-all, no one is going to be parking on grass, or blocking sidewalks, or anything like that - they're still going to have to go through the proper process. And some people are going to be denied still because there's just not going to be enough room."
McKenzie says he's not concerned with this potentially taking away street parking.
"Maybe people are actually, you know, neighbours are actually sharing that entryway. So you have one entryway for two different driveways, which you see in other areas where you have shared driveways and things like that. So, it's a two year pilot project and then administration will come back in two years and say whether it worked, whether it didn't work, and how we can move forward."
He says he's only anticipating upwards of two dozens homes applying for a front yard driveway.
A report will come back to council in two years with an update on how effective the pilot project has been, and to see if any changes need to be made - specifically with additional dwelling units.
Since the Walkerville Heritage Area is exempt from this pilot, homes within the boundary of Riverside Drive to Ottawa Street and Lincoln Road to Walker Road will not be able to apply for a front yard driveway.