Cherry blossoms are colouring the Cove.
Boaters are back on the water. The weather is getting warmer. This can only signal one thing: our perennial parking problem has bloomed again.
In the past, frustrated residents reported careless motorists blocking driveways, speeding on quiet residential streets and running over garden gnomes.
Then the district stepped in and added, among other mitigation strategies, parking restrictions on some local roads. Staff put in a parking-permit system on Panorama Drive near the Quarry Rock trailhead. But we’re not pointing any fingers.
Now it seems the situation has reached an all-time low. Five parking restriction and traffic related signs were deliberately knocked down during one sunny weekend in late April, on Deep Cove Road between Badger Road and Gallant Avenue.
The signs have since been replaced, District of North Vancouver spokesperson Stephanie Smiley confirms, but the remaining issue is (besides how to instill respect for the law): what can be done to unclog the Cove of traffic congestion in the summer?
Are visitors taking notice of new district signage directing them to park in overflow lots at Myrtle Park and nearby schools? Should there be more bylaw enforcement? More transit service?
There is nothing new parking-wise planned for Deep Cove this summer, says Smiley.
We hope district council continues to take notice of the problem and look at solutions.
Coun. Mathew Bond has floated the idea of bringing bike corrals to the Cove, thereby encouraging people to leave their cars at home.
Last summer, there was the unpopular proposal by council to put seasonal pay parking in Deep Cove.
That did not go over so well. Some residents and business owners said the Cove would lose its village charm if the parking meters showed up.
Just like death and taxes, you can be certain the Cove will be a hotbed of activity in the coming months. We welcome visitors to our beautiful village, but all we ask is that they treat our backyard like their own.
