Town to develop parking strategy for Southfields Village

Staff aim for September 2024 completion of strategy

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Town of Caledon is looking to tackle parking issues in one of its subdivisions.

At Caledon Council's October 10 General Committee meeting, a draft terms of reference for a Southfields Village Parking Strategy was approved by Council. It will be recommended for adoption at Council's October 24 meeting.

As a result of this, a $100,000 Southfields Village parking strategy capital project will be included for Council's approval in the Town's 2024 budget.

Council first asked Town of Caledon staff to develop a terms of reference, work plan, and budget for the parking strategy on April 4. Councillors wanted to identify actions that could be taken to address parking issues in Southfields. 

A staff report on the strategy was submitted to Council by Imran Salam, Transportation Engineer at the Town of Caledon.

Salam said Southfields has a high auto dependency and as a result, needs additional parking. 

A lack of parking in the community is leading to residents parking on the street and in narrow boulevards. It is also contributing to the widening of driveways, paving of front yards, and removal of landscaping to be used as additional parking, wrote Salam.

It is anticipated that parking issues will only increase in the future, as there are still dwellings being built in Southfields Village.

In developing a parking strategy for the community, Town staff will analyze the current situation and assess existing bylaws and permitting practices. Next, staff will identify options for actions to take and run them by key stakeholders like the public, Caledon OPP, and Caledon Fire and Emergency Services. Finally, staff will take any required actions and develop any required bylaws, permitting processes or programs needed to address parking issues.

The Town plans to initiate the creation of the parking strategy in February 2024, if it's approved in the Town's 2024 Budget. Public consultation is set to start in April 2024. 

A report detailing the Southfields Village parking strategy is targeted to be brought to Council by September 2024.