When local resident Vivian Branson takes his dog for a walk by the Riel Recreation Park, more often than not he is appalled by the area’s traffic congestion.
Riel Drive is regularly used for over-flow parking from the Enjoy Centre with vehicles lining both sides of the street.
“They don’t have enough parking there and when football is on it’s completely congested on both sides,” said Branson, adding the roadway is even busier when the St. Albert Rugby Football Club is open for the season.
Branson’s primary concern is for the safety of the young families – parents hauling groceries, gardening supplies as well as their children – and having to navigate their way through parked vehicles and oncoming traffic.
“It’s an accident waiting to happen,” he added.
With summer just around the corner, co-owner of the Enjoy Centre Bill Hole admitted parking will continue to be an issue.
“This is the nature of the beast. When we have events – we’re very busy in the spring – it becomes a problem,” he said. For the month of May, Hole has instructed his employees to park along Riel Drive in order to free up the centre’s 375 parking stalls for patrons.
He said although the street parking between the intersections of Levasseur Road and LeClair Way adds hundreds of more parking spots, there are plans in place to make the Enjoy Centre more accessible.
“Most people who come here are needing to haul things away, so bike racks – although we’ll have a few in here – won’t alleviate much of the parking problems for us.”
Hole said the facility would be seeing the addition of bike racks to the building’s upper level to complement the ones down below. He also mentioned plans to connect the Enjoy Centre with city transit.
“It is our intention to extend route (821) further on,” said Bob McDonald, St. Albert transit director, explaining bus stop construction is highly dependent on further development to the east of Riel Drive.
“We’re looking into the cost for creating a temporary turnaround until the road network is complete,” he said.
The closest bus stop at Renault Crescent is located 450m away, or about a six-minute walk from the Enjoy Centre. A designated sidewalk only extends about half the distance.
For patrons who can’t find a spot in the parking lot, parking is currently allowed along both sides of Riel Drive where city officials have said there is “adequate room on either side to park effectively.”
Parking is prohibited around fire hydrants and the T-intersection at Levasseur Road.
