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Commercial vehicles may face restrictions

Drivers of large trucks, vans and semi-trailers may soon face restrictions when parking on Turner Valley’s Main Street this spring.
Turner Valley Protective Services patrol supervisor Trever Bowman approached town council last week with two options to address residents’ concerns about large
Turner Valley Protective Services patrol supervisor Trever Bowman approached town council last week with two options to address residents’ concerns about large commercial vehicles parking on Main Street.

Drivers of large trucks, vans and semi-trailers may soon face restrictions when parking on Turner Valley’s Main Street this spring.

Turner Valley Protective Services patrol supervisor Trever Bowman approached Town council at its regular meeting on Nov. 5 with two options to limit commercial parking on Main Street in response to residents’ and merchants’ concerns about parked commercial vehicles potentially causing collisions resulting from reduced visibility for pedestrians and motorists.

“Safety and visibility of our commercial businesses are the priority here,” said Bowman, adding that no collisions have been reported as a result of commercial vehicles parked on Main Street.

Both options suggest no commercial parking (except for deliveries for a maximum of one hour) northbound between Seclusion Valley Drive and the courthouse and southbound between Dunham Lane and Edgar Avenue, and a maximum of one hour commercial parking northbound between the Sheep River Library and Sunset Blvd. and southbound between Edgar Avenue and Sunset Blvd.

Bowman said the only difference between the two options is that the first option allows small vehicles to park northbound between the north and south entrance of Dr. Lander Memorial Pool and the second permits no parking.

“We did look at other towns and how they did theirs,” he said. “Each town is different. Some don’t allow any parking anywhere in their downtown area for commercial vehicles.”

Bowman said the two options seem to be the best solution after talking to residents and business owners in the community.

During the past two years Turner Valley Protective Services tracked complaints relating to large vehicles parking on Main Street after residents and merchants expressed concerns about the limited visibility of not only motorists and pedestrians that were blocked from the large vehicles, but also businesses.

“We got a number of complaints from the community regarding the safety issue of oversized vehicles parked on Main Street, reduced visibility and complaints from the business community about the vehicles blocking their store fronts,” he said. “We want to be proactive.”

In addition to posting a survey on the Town’s website last spring, Bowman said peace officers met with each merchant on Main Street as well as the fire department, RCMP, library and Alberta Transportation to gather input.

Bowman said some expressed concerns that visibility to their business was blocked by large commercial vehicles and others felt that business would decrease if a parking restriction were placed on Main Street.

“We went out and spoke to all the business owners just to make sure we captured everybody’s perspective on it and come up with a pretty good compromise,” he said. “We want to make sure if people are stopping on Main Street (in commercial vehicles) that they are given enough time to access the town’s services and go from there.”

Valley Cold Beer & Liquor owner Sarah Harrold said her concerns arise from semi trailers parking across the street from her business.

“When my staff are working late at night it limits their vision of what’s actually out there,” she said. “It’s not well lit. It would be very easy for somebody to hide behind a truck. You never know if someone is casing out the place if they’re planning a robbery.”

Knowing that the Town could approve commercial parking restrictions near her business will put Harrold’s visibility, safety and security concerns to rest.

“I’m all for it,” she said. “I’m perfectly happy if there is a different area for them to park their trucks.”

Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Monique LeBlanc told council she supports Bowman’s suggestions regarding commercial parking on Main Street.

“We’re trying to strike a balance,” she said. “We don’t want to discourage anyone from the local businesses.”

Bowman said if council does approve one of the two options, he will recommend that signage be installed this spring in preparation for the opening of the courthouse, which he expects will result in increased traffic.

“Signage will be critical for this to work,” he said. “There will be an educational component first.”

Bowman also recommended additional signage be placed directing overnight or long-term parking on Kennedy Drive.

“We wanted to make sure that if we restrict parking in a certain area that we make sure there is an alternative place that is really close,” he said.

Bowman said he anticipates the purchase and installation of the signs will cost approximately $2,000.

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