Street parking restrictions to end near HGH, but permits will stay

Changes are coming to parking is regulated on streets around Hawkesbury and District General Hospital (HGH).

Ghislain Street resident Linda Ouimet wrote to Hawkesbury Clerk Sonia Girard requesting that the parking restrictions on the street be removed.  Currently, residents of Ghislain and Stevens streets are required in the area, but parking restrictions are in place due to previous heavy equipment traffic in the area.

Ouimet’s letter explains that during the now completed multi-year construction project at the hospital, the town implemented parking restrictions with the agreement of neighbourhood residents.

“Now that the construction/renovation has been completed for a while, I believe it would be a good idea to re-evaluate and, I hope, remove these restrictions,” Ouimet wrote.

At the August 11 town council meeting, Mayor Robert Lefebvre said parking permits for residents of Ghislain and Stevens streets were initially considered because hospital visitors were parking along the streets for extended periods of time. The permits were eventually introduced in 2015 when the prolonged construction period at the hospital began as a way of keeping traffic flowing when there were many construction vehicles in the area.

Councillor Jeanne Charlebois said she believes it is time to discontinue the parking permits because there is no more construction traffic in the area.

Lefebvre noted that before the construction, many people were parking on the street to access the hospital.

Councillor Raymond Campbell affirmed the mayor’s comments.

Council adopted a motion from Councillor Julie Séguin proposing that Ouimet’s request to remove the parking restrictions on Ghislain and Stevens streets be granted, and to have administrative staff return to council with a report and recommendations on how to proceed with the changes.

The parking permits will still be required, but due to there no longer being any construction vehicle traffic in the area around the hospital, the residents will again be allowed to park on the street as long as they have a valid permit.