Prince Edward County Council has once again addressed parking and pedestrian concerns on County Road 7 at Lake on the Mountain.
On Thursday, Committee of the Whole approved a crosswalk in front of Lake on the Mountain Provincial Park.
Councillors also passed a motion to again allow parking on the road in the immediate area of the park for 2022 – something that was eliminated last summer resulting in $400 tickets for vehicles parked illegally.
Parking is being reinstated while a parking needs analysis is completed over the summer.
Several councillors had issues with the original proposal before them on Thursday which called for the crosswalk, a pedestrian walkway and the installation of several paid parking spots along both sides of the road at a cost of just over $600,000.
Most councillors said they couldn’t justify the cost of the plan as presented but there were several opinions on how to proceed before finally coming to their decisions.
Parking and pedestrian safety have been issues in the area, with many people parking on the road and walking to the park, or two nearby restaurants.
Mayor Steve Ferguson says it is time to find a permanent solution.
“There’s been all kinds of commentary, negative and positive. We have neighbour against neighbour, neighbour against business, business against neighbour. We have conflicting opinions and views amongst members of council. We cannot let this languish.”
Councillor Phil Prinzen brought forth the motion for the parking needs analysis which passed in a recorded vote of 7-5.
Councillor Kate MacNaughton pushed to go ahead with the crosswalk and Councillor Ernie Margetson agreed saying they can’t ignore the pedestrian safety issues any longer.
“Anyone that has experience in that area knows that there are a lot of pedestrians crossing the road and I think they’ve identified that liability to the municipality and we would be negligent not to ensure that we recognize that issue.”
The final cost of the crosswalk project still has to be determined but council asked staff to solicit a financial commitment from Ontario Parks to offset project costs.
CAO Marcia Wallace indicated that the province did indicate a willingness to provide some funding for the project.
The cost of the parking study also must still be determined with funding likely to come from the Parking Reserve Fund or possibly the MAT tax.
