There’s a growing issue for one neighbourhood in south Windsor when it comes to parking.
With an elementary and high school nearby that continue to grow, plus a place of worship at the corner of a busy intersection, residents are saying enough is enough.
"Basically we have Holy Names which has grown immensely and we have Northwood grade school which has also grown immensely,” says Ward 10 Coun. Paul Borrelli.
With a proposal to allow worshippers of a mosque to park on the streets in the Dominion Boulevard/Northwood Street area during certain times on Friday, a petition has been started.
“The overwhelming response from the residents is they do not want to be impacted, because it's impacting their quality of life,” Borrelli says.
“Then we've got a problem. Where do the people that go to during the day of prayer which is Friday, where do the people from the mosque go? Where do they park?"
If nearby residents have it their way, it won't be on their streets.
"It's absolutely not just a mosque issue. It's a quality of the neighbourhood issue,” says resident Philip Ricciardi.
He has lived on Curry Avenue since 2000 and says the issue is getting worse. He signed the petition against patrons parking on the streets there.
The issue is on the agenda for Wednesday’s transportation meeting, but Borrelli says it will be deferred to a later date and he's hoping a new recommendation will be in place in time for the new school year.
Lina Chakers, the media relations director for the Windsor Mosque says the have hired a consulting company to look into options.
“We’ll present those in a public manner to the residents of the area, to hopefully seek a solution that addresses everyone's needs."
