A Burnaby resident is speaking out about how at least one of her neighbours is harassing her over the issue of street parking.
L.B. is yet another Burnaby renter whose landlord does not offer access to parking on the property where she is a tenant.
That means she has to park on the street.
“I don’t have any choice,” L.B. said. “But some of the entitled homeowners on our street just won’t let up about if you park in front of their house. I’ve literally been told to park on another street and just walk. Well, they don’t own the street so I refused, but some of them leave notes on my windshield … the notes started off polite but they are getting a little unhinged.”
The latest was one that said “move it b***h or lose it” and an ugly expletive right there in the middle.
L.B. knows who it is but hasn’t actually caught them in the act. She’s considered setting up some kind of surveillance camera, but those can be expensive. L.B. says things have gotten worse because she’s working at home more often due to COVID-19 restrictions involving her employer.
“I’m not giving in,” she said. “They don’t own the street and I’ll park there if I want to. Renters get treated bad enough as it is.”
One idea that several readers have put forward is for Burnaby to adopt the system that Vancouver uses - on a wider level - in which people can buy permits to park on the street in their neighbourhood. Annual permits start at around $45 and go up to $90 – unless you live in the West End, in which you can pay $400.
I’m sure homeowners already feel like they pay enough in taxes, but if a street is really struggling with parking issues, this could be a targeted solution. It’s not perfect, but according to the messages I’ve received, there are some really dirty parking wars going on and something needs to be done to people to stop fighting with each other.
Some support this idea for Burnaby.
“I agree that the City of Burnaby should implement the cash grab that is residential permit parking for locals that have parking issues,” wrote David Tieu, in response to a letter we ran. “I don't know that this will solve his problem entirely, but it would at least prevent folks that are using the streets as a park and ride for transit. So, take it up with the city.”
This situation is getting out of control in some neighbourhoods. People just need to calm down and focus more on the important things.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
