Council loosens parking rules to encourage more child-care spaces
Parking requirements for daycares cut in half under changes aimed at making it easier for families to access care in their neighborhoods.
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Edmonton city council has voted to make it easier for child-care facilities to open across the city by cutting parking requirements and allowing daycares in more zones.
Council voted 11-2 on Tuesday to adjust the city's zoning bylaw, reducing parking requirements for daycare centres and permitting them in most of the city, though they remain limited to corner lots unless adjacent to a non-residential building. Councillors Thu Parmar and Karen Principe voted against the changes.
Previously, a proposed child-care centre was required to provide two parking spaces for the first 10 children and one additional space for each additional 10 children served. Under the new rules, a daycare needs only one parking space for every 10 children — a requirement that is further reduced by half if unrestricted on-street parking exists in front of the facility. This means a 40-space daycare on a parking-friendly street would need only two parking spaces instead of the previous four to six.
"The farther away your daycare is, the more likely you are to drive, the more likely you'll have parking, pick-up and congestion issues," said Ward Papastew Coun. Michael Janz. "The more we can allow child care to set up where the children are, the less likely we are to have traffic and parking issues."
Mayor Andrew Knack echoed the sentiment. "For the longest time daycares have been too restricted," he said. "People had to drive to a daycare outside their community because they weren't able to have one in their community. If you've got a child-care or daycare space in your community, you have the option of walking or biking to that space."
Daycare centres are now permitted in 17 of the city's special area zones — sections with specific zoning based on the region's history and geography. Other requirements remain in place, including prohibitions on locating next to industrial or major utility uses, a maximum floor space of 300 square metres, and a mandatory outdoor playspace.
Edmonton currently has more than 800 licensed child-care facilities within city limits. Janz said he would like to see further limitations removed to allow daycares mid-block in more areas.