Petty Harbour gets 24-space lot to remedy parking woes
Petty Harbour is throwing above its weight when it comes to attracting visitors: so much so, that often the number of cars in town far exceeds the number of places to put them.
In recent summers residents have complained about blocked driveways and traffic jams tangling up locals trying to get to work.
After at least a year of tossing around ideas, MP for St. John's South—Mount Pearl Seamus O'Regan says the town came up with a solution.
With $37,000 in federal money and $21,000 from provincial coffers, a 24-space parking lot will take over a slice of land owned by Newfoundland Power on Skinner's Hill.
The finished lot will remain tucked away just behind the town so as not to interfere with the aesthetics of the main drag, O'Regan said.
"[We wanted] as many as we could get," he said.
"Logistically, Petty Harbour is really difficult to build in ... Part of the reason people come to Petty Harbour is it's so beautiful, you're so surrounded by hillside, the water — but you're limited by that as well."
Karen Cimer, owner of the waterShed Coffee Shop, lauded the announcement, saying the town needs to find a way to get cars off the road for everyone's sake — locals and tourists alike.
But she said additional spaces to those announced Thursday would help keep pedestrians safe while making harbourside strolls more enjoyable for visitors.
Luckily, she said, two lots already exist that could ease the pressure.
"I don't want it to be 'town of parking lots,'" she said, noting that the community centre and St. Joseph's Catholic Church were both used as overflow lots by visitors before the town council put an end to it.
"We need more parking than we have, but we also need not to infringe on the population here ... These people didn't move here with a circus going on."
Christopher Brown, a staff member at North Atlantic Ziplines in the community, said sometimes the streets are so packed with cars it could take him 30 minutes to get the company's tour bus out of town.
"It seems over the past couple of years it really is after picking up down here," he said, pointing to the wide range of businesses around the town's small harbour, from a novelty ice cream shop to a mini-aquarium.
Brown agrees that 24 spots aren't likely to solve the problem for good, but at least it's a start — and he's not complaining about the income that goes along with the spike in traffic.
"There were a couple disputes over people parking in people's driveways," he said, but ultimately, the residents he's spoken to don't resent the influx of guests.
O'Regan and the province's Tourism Minister Christopher Mitchelmore told reporters efforts would be made to work with the town to balance residential concerns and tourism goals.
According to Petty Harbour Mayor Sam Lee, shovels could hit the ground by next week, with construction of the parking lot completed in September.
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