Summerside to eliminate parking spots on Willow Avenue

City council in Summerside, P.E.I., has voted to eliminate nearly two dozen parking spaces on the north side of Willow Avenue, between Bob Dewar Streetand Greenwood Drive.

The motion originally put forward Monday night suggested only eliminating five parking spots on the street but Coun.Tyler Desroches made an amendment to increase the total to about 22spaces in total because of safety issues.

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"I had a number of complaints from parents, from officials with the soccer program, from different people in the community of the safety," he said.

Desroches said the amendment was necessary because traffic caused by games at the sports field on the north side of the street often makes it difficult to seechildren crossing the road.

"At least people driving up and down Willow Avenue will be able to see them," he said.

Need for alternative accessible parking

Some councillorsraised concerns aboutredirecting traffic onto Greenwood Drive, but Desroches said better safety on the street is worth the inconvenience.

"We have ample amount of parking in the Credit Union Place parking lot and the raceway parking lot they can use," he said."We have a way of getting them off the street, it's just a matter of making them do it."

Council voted to also have a team evaluate the possibility of creating alternative accessible parking along Willow Avenue, with the consideration of adding a few spaces in the turf field's parking lot.

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