New parking rules for Cochrane Road

Henceforth, it is prohibited to park on the east side of Cochrane Road, between Aylmer Road and Holmes Street. The city’s Executive Committee sanctioned this modification, March 9. The city says the prohibition will optimize road safety in that area, and is in effect between 7 am and 5 pm, Monday to Friday.

This change follows the opening of Carrefour santé Aylmer, at 362 Aylmer Road. The new health centre at the intersection of Aylmer and Cochrane Roads has only 30 parking spots because the City limited parking in order to encourage public and active transport.

“For our size, we would have needed 60 parking spaces to prevent overflow onto neighbouring streets. The city blocked this,” reported Mr Ballard, one of the developers of the Carrefour; the clinic is part of the architectural implementation and integration plan (AIIP).

Mr Ballard was disappointed with the city’s decision to prohibit parking on the east side of Cochrane. “Had the city told us from the start that parking would be prohibited on the street (east side), we clearly would not have built here. The city knew we were going to build a medical clinic that includes other professional health services and, of course, that this would generate more traffic in the area.  The city is penalizing vulnerable patients by making access to the clinic difficult,” added Ballard.

The Carrefour santé d’Aylmer construction was launched June 23, 2015. Since July 2015, the city’s non-urgent call centre (3-1-1) has received nine calls regarding parking on Cochrane Road, between Aylmer Road and Holmes Street, site of 20 homes.

Mr Ballard noted that the clinic’s staff parks on neighbouring streets to free spaces for their clients.

About 20 people work at the clinic which is not yet at full capacity and occupies a third of the building. “At full capacity, 40 to 50 people will be working at the Carrefour”, said Mr Ballard. According to the developer’s calculations, over 120 people are at the Carrefour during peak hours.

“As for zoning specifications, the Carrefour is not office space but a clinic,” stressed Mr Ballard. “This is the only location in Aylmer we found for this type of project. We’ve invested many millions of dollars here.”    
(Transl.: CB)