Re: School Parking problems plague Falkland. Our street, Beaverbrooke, once labeled St. Michaels University School’s de facto parking lot, is three feet narrower than Falkland. Therefore their logic sited in the Oak Bay News is flawed. “Residents cite potential dangers with changing parking rules on Falkland, noting it is a narrower thoroughfare with visibility and safety issues.”
Falkland is the second widest street after Victoria, wider than Beaverbrooke, Hampshire, Pentland, and Smythe, and historically under-used by SMUS parking. Falkland has received far less traffic than Beaverbrooke endures daily. In addition, Beaverbrooke has students commuting to and from Monterey Middle School on foot or by bike, trying to navigate past heavy SMUS parking and traffic.
Pushing Falkland parking onto surrounding streets like ours, puts residents and commuting students at risk with even more visibility and safety issues. Therefore, all council decisions should be deferred and studied before any surrounding streets get restricted or residents’ only parking.
I do agree that SMUS must fix their own self-induced parking problems and on their property.
Carolyn Stevens
Oak Bay
