Council considers solutions for Kid Kare traffic concerns

EAGLE STAFF

Councillors discussed potential solutions to the traffic situation near Kid Kare after receiving a letter before their Dec. 1 meeting.

They decided to try to talk to management with the daycare centre before making any decisions. The letter writer suggested using the vacant lot across Sixth Avenue East for parking but nearby residents had opposed such a use during a survey, councillors heard.

There had been no complaints until Kid Kare opened there, Mayor Trevor Hay said. Hay noted that the town had reduced the speed limit to 30 km/h along the block and suggested that Kid Kare buy an empty lot beside it to use for parking.

“It would be a lot more friendly to cross the alley than to cross the street,” Hay said.

“Just because Kid Kare is there and adding to the problem doesn’t mean it’s their fault,” said councillor Kimiko Otterspoor, a former Kid Kare executive.

If its staff would park elsewhere, “You could ask parents to park on one side of the street when they drop off their children so that people know where to expect the cars to be and when they’re going to be there,” Otterspoor said.

While backing out of the driveway in front of the new Kid Kare building on dark mornings, “It’s so hard to see, as there are so many vehicles parked everywhere and it has potentially blind spots due to vehicles,” the letter said.

The nearby funeral home, Orange Memories care home and the Kinsmen Park, with its new play structures, sometimes cause people to park on Sixth Avenue, the letter and councillors noted.

Public Works superintendent Bob Bors said he recalled that the town had called for people to drop off children in the area in front of the centre, not on the street.

Parents should “wait until a spot opens up, pull in, let your kids out, leave and let the next person pull in, not line the street . . . letting kids run around,” Bors said. “We knew parking and traffic were going to be an issue right from the start.”

Councillor Art Garrett suggested a meeting with Kid Kare officials to “come up with an amiable solution and find something that everyone’s happy with.”