Boulevard parking permitted year-round in Kitchener

Councillor Bil Ioannidis brought forward a motion asking that vehicles be allowed to park on paved boulevards year-round in Kitchener.

Council approved the motion unanimously this week.

Previously, boulevard parking was only permitted through the winter.

“Our pressures for parking throughout the community is definitely not easing up and our population is growth is growing,” Ioannidis told the Mike Farwell Show Friday. “I thought it was prudent for us to open it up to being full year, all year round, to alleviate some of these pressures.”

Ioannidis also highlighted the increasing number of intergenerational homes that have more vehicles to park. The street isn’t an option due to Kitchener’s three-hour street parking limit.

Vehicles parked on a house’s paved space between the sidewalk and road will need to have all four tires on the pavement and should not have too much overhang on the grass or sidewalk.

They can be parked either with the flow of traffic or perpendicular to the house, as long as the driveway is big enough.

Boulevard parking is not allowed for houses within 15 metres of an intersection.

With the increasing number of vehicles in the region, Ioannidis is hoping for more use of public transit in the future.

“That’s the ultimate goal,” he said. “That’s what we want, but not everyone’s comfortable with the transition stages of alternative modes of transportation. This is just a balancing tactic until we get to that place where we’re able to have those alternatives in place.”