Dear Editor,
I live in a newer development in Yorkson South, on a quiet side-street made up of single detached homes with short and narrow driveways.
When parking two average-sized vehicles side-by-side, it is difficult to open their doors. My fellow neighbours all agree that we each would really benefit from a little wider driveway [Parking homeowners’ fault, April 1 Letters, Langley Advance].
Just the other day, my neighbour received a letter from the Township, ordering him to remove his driveway width extension (about three feet) or face daily heavy fines of $500 per day until it is removed.
Although the extension is on his own property, it apparently violates some bylaw requiring the driveway to be a certain distance away from the property line.
The letter states that he should be a “good neighbour†and remove it.
My neighbour is being a good neighbour by having the extra space to park his vehicle on his own driveway and off the street!
Recently, the Township eliminated parking on one side of our street. (And what a time did they choose to put up No Parking signs: just when all our sidewalks were getting repaired and none of us could even park in our driveways for a week. What happened to common sense?)
We all pay property taxes on this useless, wasted strip of grass that turns into a muddy mess when it rains, but we are not permitted to turn it into something beneficial and aesthetically pleasing for all of us.
Not only has the Township of Langley chosen not to solve the problem of public street parking, it even prevents solving parking problems on our own private properties.
Vickash Kumar, Willoughby