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Windsor Islamic Association launches traffic study in bid to solve mosque parking woes

The Windsor Islamic Association is launching a traffic study around the Windsor Mosque in a bid to "find a permanent solution" to traffic congestion in the area.

"We do have proposals for short-term and long-term plans to deal with this problem," said the mosque in a release Thursday morning. "While we intend to work with all involved parties to find a solution to this problem, we affirm our position that a solution cannot and should not be at the expense of our neighbours."

A city proposal for additional street parking to accommodate worshippers at the mosque on Fridays prompted neighbours, already concerned with congestion in the area, to sign a petition against the proposal.

City administrators proposed making parking available on five streets in the south Cameron neighbourhood on Fridays between the hours of 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Windsor's transportation committee was expected to discuss the issue at a meeting Wednesday afternoon, but those talks were deferred because there was not enough time to prepare a full report, said city engineer Mark Winterton.

The city plans to remove 47 on-street parking spaces from the congested Dominion Boulevard to create bike lanes on the street. To offset that reduction of spots, the proposal would have added about 120 spots on side streets on Fridays.

A petition signed by residents in the area showed 76 per cent of residents support keeping the parking at its current levels.

Even if the city approved the proposal for more parking on Fridays, the decision could be quickly overturned because of the opposition, according to a report from the city's policy analyst Jeff Hagan.

He said any changes to on-street parking require 60 per cent support from residents. Because of the opposition, mosque officials will have to shore up some sympathy from people living in the area.

Members of the Windsor Islamic Association are trying to work with residents to come up with a solution.

The group's public relations director, Lina Chaker, said the mosque was looking at different options for parking, when street parking was suggested.

"We wanted to see if residents were in favour of this and they are not," Chaker said. "And frankly we would agree that it's not a well thought out solution."

The mosque is in the process of establishing another facility, which would ultimately fix the parking problem, but they are looking for a temporary solution to accommodate their 1,000 members who attend each Friday prayer.

The area also has two schools near by, so the loss of the parking spots is not just a mosque concern but a city concern, Chaker said.

The mosque has hired a consultant in order to examine different parking option, Chaker said she wants to organize a community meeting to further open up the discussion.