Pugwash Addresses Parking and Traffic Concerns
Pugwash has a parking problem, not widespread but in a tiny, important area.
Generally speaking, the village has ample parking, except the busy little section of the downtown on Water Street, especially the area from the bank to the pharmacy.
That is the area busily frequented by seniors and others who need both the health and financial services.
The problem is not too many customers for too few spaces. The problem is some of those spaces are being hogged all day by a few employees of nearby businesses.
The problem is not new. In fact, the village clerk has sent numerous letters over recent years urging employers to have staff use other parking spots like the Municipal Parking Lot near Eaton Park or the many available spots on side streets.
A certain few continue to ignore the needs of actual customers and the Village Commission is taking action.
The village wants to have time limited parking in that immediate area, setting a maximum of one or two hours, sufficient for people to conduct their business trips but not open to all day parking.
If the provincial department of transportation agrees, signs will be posted and offenders will be fined or have vehicles towed away. The RCMP have jurisdiction over such municipal laws.
In a certain irony, the first parking limitations, set many decades ago, were also to limit the parking of merchants and their employees who tied up spots intended for shoppers.
The village also intends to make additional parking available on Durham Street. An area opposite the old fire hall is currently a ‘No Parking’ area, a throwback to when fire trucks needed space to come and go. The commission hopes the extra space will be a benefit, especially when the Farmers Market is open.
New crosswalk signs have been installed at the intersection of Durham and Russell Street in an effort to improve visibility at the busy crosswalk.
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