With 22 new on-site parking spaces in downtown Orillia, one resident is concerned that the busy — and deadly — intersection at West and Colborne streets could become even more dangerous.
The intersection has seen two fatal crashes since the beginning of the year, something that was front of mind for Susan Lewis when she saw the new spots along Colborne Street outside Orillia City Centre.
“We all know that stretch has been particularly dangerous and perilous... (and) we've had two fatalities in the last eight months,” she said. “What more do we need to show that stretch is dangerous? To add parking along that stretch just does not seem to be a very good idea.”
In January, six-year-old Avalon Jameson was killed in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection, and Jason Sawyer, 48, was killed in a motorcycle collision on Labour Day weekend, sparking safety concerns from residents about the intersection.
The 22 new parking spaces have been added downtown following city council’s approval back in May, with 17 of those spaces along Colborne Street, including near Orillia City Centre/Lakehead University and the Tim Hortons along the busy road.
“You've got people that will be pulling in and out of parking spots. There's going to be people parallel parking. We already have people that are (speeding) through the intersection,” Lewis said.
She questioned the benefit of bringing the street-side parking spaces to the busy area, weighing the need for parking against potential safety issues.
“I know parking has been an issue in downtown Orillia … I worked at the downtown management board in the ‘90s and parking has been an issue since then,” she said.
“I get that there's a parking problem, but this cannot be the solution. It just can't, and to have parking spots right outside the Tim Hortons entrance, which is busy all the time, it just does not seem to be a very wise idea.”
City staff told OrilliaMatters the parking spaces near Colborne/West comply with local traffic bylaws that require parking spaces to be at least 15 metres from any intersection with traffic signals, and mentioned additional signage will be installed as work is completed on the new spaces.
“The new parking setup is not yet complete. Additional directional and informational signage will be posted to further guide motorists, and some line painting still needs to be completed,” said Shawn Crawford, the city's director of legislative, building, parking, and transit services.
“As part of the (staff) report, consultation took place with the Downtown Orillia BIA parking working group, the accessibility advisory committee, and the transportation and parking working group," said Crawford.
Crawford said the new spaces will be implemented over the next few weeks, and parking fees will be set at $1.75 per hour – generating an estimated $4,800 in revenue per year.
