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Council heard a presentation from a resident regarding issues with Patricia Street’s bus zone and the nearby alleyway intersection during its Aug. 22 committee of the whole meeting.
Kimberley Stark noted how cars often illegally park in the bus zone, which displaces buses and forces them to park in the driving lane.
She also described how treacherous it was to drive out of the alleyway and turn right onto a busy street, especially considering the two pedestrian crosswalks and how a large parked bus could obscure oncoming traffic.
“My solution is to have the buses move across and park in front of the totem pole,” Stark told council.
“I understand it is a taxi zone at this time, and I used to be a taxi driver, so I’m not trying to take anything away from taxis, but having a large bus downtown is, in my opinion, not an excellent place for it to be.”
Stark argued that Connaught Drive was preferable since it had four lanes.
It would also allow buses to drop visitors off in front of the information centre, public washrooms and two spots that recognize Indigenous history – the totem pole and the future Jasper Indigenous Exhibit.
Mayor Richard Ireland acknowledged that Patricia Street was not the ideal spot for a bus zone but also noted how the area had the Jasper Adventure Centre and other amenities.
Busloads of pedestrians would also have to walk across Connaught Drive if it were to move to the location that Stark proposed.
Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey added how seniors often used these buses and that many businesses had historically preferred having a bus zone on Patricia Street.
Coun. Rico Damota, meanwhile, noted how delivery trucks often had a hard time turning right into the alleyway due to many of the concerns that Stark had brought up.
Coun. Ralph Melnyk moved that the matter return to committee next month when it will also discuss other traffic-related matters.
This would prevent piecemeal solutions that could negatively affect traffic in other areas.
Code of conduct
Council also discussed instituting a code of conduct for municipal facilities months after a hockey fight broke out at the Jasper Arena.
The municipality currently does not have a policy specific to code of conduct within municipal facilities.
However, the conduct in public spaces bylaw does outline expectations for the public’s conduct in any public space within the townsite.
According to administration, the bylaw has clear expectations about conduct that would apply to the fight that broke out back in March.
Administration stated that council could either adopt a code of conduct or utilize the existing bylaw “and build internal capacity to take action when conduct by the public is in contravention of that bylaw.”
CAO Bill Given said organizers who rented out the ice would be required to sign a code of conduct, which would put the burden more on the organizer.
Mayor Richard Ireland noted how he liked the idea of expanding the definition of “facility” so the code of conduct would apply to other public areas.
This could include parks and the baseball diamonds.
Ireland added how he would like to see how the policy addressed empowering and protecting staff when it comes to enforcing a code of conduct.
Council moved for administration to return with a draft code of conduct police at a future committee of the whole meeting.
