Pipestone Flyer
On Tuesday, February 11th County Council addressed a long standing safety issue within the Nisku Business Park by passing the Third Reading of a No Parking Bylaw. This Bylaw makes it illegal for vehicles to park along any roadway within Nisku.
"We are casting as wide a net as possible," said Director of Public Works and Engineering Des Mryglod.
This is due to the fact that vehicles lining the sides along many of Nisku's roadways restrict lane usage and make certain stretches of road quite hazardous. Restricted visibility entering and exiting businesses as well as reduced lane width due to the parked vehicles have created dangerous situations when partnered with large trucks and oversized loads that frequently travel along Nisku's streets. “Leduc County has decided to prohibit on-street parking in the Nisku Industrial Business Park in an effort to prevent potential accidents or near misses,” says Mayor John Whaley. “This bylaw is in the public interest and will help to increase safety in the park.”
Certain businesses within the park have already received multiple warnings over the last couple of years about their employees parking along the road, and while the businesses themselves have been supportive of keeping the roadways clear County enforcement services have had almost no recourse to deal with the issue. This has now changed with the new Bylaw in place.
It will now be possible to issue tickets and fines to vehicles parked along the roads in Nisku and in extreme cases to even have a vehicle towed away, but County Peace Officer and Director of Enforcement Services for the County, Clarence Nelson, stated that it was going to take some time to "phase in" the Bylaw. "We will be concentrating on the high traffic areas first. It's not going to be a switch we flip on Monday. We will use common sense in implementing this Bylaw."
New "no parking" signage will be erected around the business park in the coming months and the County has stated that there will be a "grace period" to allow affected individuals to find alternative arrangements.