Parking wars in Bradford

By Miriam King Bradford Times October 8
Roddie Saunders’ business, Upper Canada Ice Cream, has suffered as a result of parking restrictions imposed by the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury. From 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, parking has been banned on the east side of Barrie St. to facilitate northbound rush-hour traffic, while construction is underway on Dissette St. and the 8th Line.
Saunders says that, despite sultry summer weather, sales were down 80% since the ban came in – and he has lost over one-third of his income this summer.
“To all the people who complain that the downtown was too busy when the parking was there, you might have saved a minute or two on your drive – but think of the stores downtown who lose a large percentage of their income, for the couple of minutes you saved,” Saunders says. “Doesn’t seem fair that we lose 15 hours a week, for you to gain 5-10 minutes.”
“It was meant to be temporary in nature,” Director of Engineering Services Debbie Korolnek says of the parking ban; once construction delays and closures are out of the way, Council may rescind the by-law.
The 8th Line-Dissette project is “still on track for completion by March 31, 2011,” Korolnek says, despite recent heavy rains. “They’ll have all the base coat down by the time the snow flies.”
As for when the parking ban could be lifted, “It depends how late we go with construction, which is completely weather-dependent. It could be late November.”
She thanks residents for their patience, in the midst of all of the road construction in Bradford this year. “It’s been a tough summer for sure. Unfortunately, when you get the money (for infrastructure improvements), you go for it.
“This will soon be over.”
Other downtown merchants are also protesting the loss of onstreet parking on weekday afternoons, questioning why they should lose business to facilitate through traffic. They are being asked to make their concerns known to the ongoing Downtown Revitalization Strategy study, being conducted by PlanningAlliance.