A notice of motion asking to remove on-street parking to ease traffic congestion at busy intersection in Tecumseh has been rejected.
Tecumseh deputy mayor Joe Bachetti presented his notice on Monday asking the town to implement temporary daily no-parking restrictions on one or both sides of Tecumseh Road East and elongate the right turn lane onto Lesperance Road. The motion failed with a 5-2 vote.
Bachetti says he's heard from residents, businesses, and commuters of the daily traffic backups happening in that area.
Traffic has increased significantly over the last few months in that area due to several road infrastructure projects taking place where drivers look for alternate routes. One of the main construction projects taking place includes the work of an overpass at the intersection of Banwell Road and the E.C. Row Expressway.
Following the failed vote, administration stated that they would continue to monitor the traffic and collaborate with the County of Essex on traffic signal timing calibration.
JJ Carcelen, the owner of Oven 360 in Tecumseh, was a delegate at the meeting. He says something needs to be done to address the increase in traffic.
"Until all of the construction outside in the perimeter of the area was solved and finished to alleviate a little bit of the traffic challenges that we have right now. I'm talking on my behalf, but speaking to other businesses around the area, they're expressing the same concerns and the same challenges."
Bachetti says to be patient is not a solution.
"We're looking at two to three years in the foreseeable future of more construction, and the gridlock will continue. And so if we don't act on some of the remedies, and I asked administration to bring some forward."
He says real lives have been heavily impacted by this traffic.
"We've had grandparents who are trying to pick up their children at the end of the school day, they need to be present at the bus stop, and if they're not there the child gets returned to the school. Businesses along that stretch are pleading for help, they want something done now."
Bachetti says he respects democracy but the town has to try something to fix this problem
"I'm not saying these solutions will solve the traffic issues along that stretch, but why can't we look at no parking between 3 and 6 p.m., even on the south side going east on Tecumseh Road, and see if that helps reduce the traffic... especially during those busy traffic times."
Only Bachetti and councillor Tania Jobin were in support of the motion.
Back in 2021, the town added more on-street parking and went from two lanes in each direction to one lane between Shawnee Road and Lesperance Road as part of the Main Street beautification efforts.