City parking signs stating 'let residents park in front of their houses' now removed

The City of Calgary says it has removed signs in a northwest Calgary neighbourhood that asked visitors to the area to "let residents park in front of their houses."

The signs caught the eye of Calgarian Daryl Pamplin last week, who took his grandchildren to visit a park in Thorncliffe in the city's northwest.

Pamplin was surprised to see signs bearing City of Calgary branding urging people to park elsewhere than on a public street. He says it's contrary to messaging he's seen from the city historically when it comes to street parking on public roads, unless specifically designated.

"I've been in Calgary my entire life and [the City has] always pushed that the front of your house is not yours. You don't have some kind of rule over the parking in front of your house."

Pamplin pointed out the signs to the city on Twitter and they responded they'd investigate the authenticity of the signs.

"I can see where it was well-intentioned but I still think they maybe gave some fuel to some of the more crotchety neighbours," said Pamplin.

Calgary Parks northwest operations manager David Hobson says the signs were put up to address residents' concerns about parking and increased traffic.

The city says the pandemic has led to a large increase in users at the park in Thorncliffe and the signs were installed with the intention of educating park users about the different parking options in the area.

"The signs were produced by Calgary Parks to address the local residents' concern about increased and, at times, illegal parking in the area," said Hobson.

He said sometimes people were parking too close to crosswalks and blocking sidewalks.

"While the signs were well intentioned, they did miss the mark. And we've taken them down. We do apologize for that mistake," said Hobson.

Hobson says street parking in the area remains public. The city is now exploring other ways to educate about safe parking in that area.