Dollard residents complain about a lot

Residents of Oslo Street in Dollard des Ormeaux are up in arms over some dangerous and illegal parking on their street during weekday evening soccer practices which they say could be easily avoided if the nearby Ecole primaire Dollard des Ormeaux would allow parents to leave their cars in their parking lot, but the Marguerite Bourgeoys school board claims it might not be so simple a matter.

"That parking is reserved for employees. We stopped allowing parking there because they would run into problems in the mornings, when they would arrive to discover their spaces had been taken," said board spokesperson Brigitte Léonard.

Dollard's recreation department runs its youth soccer practices between 6 and 8 p.m. weekdays except in case of rain on a park between the school and Oslo Street, adjacent to Anselme Lavigne Boulevard.

Residents there say that not only do drivers occasionally park illegally but they even make driving through for other vehicles or crossing for pedestrians dangerous by parking around the bend into another street, Carlton.

"We have the police here literally at least once a week (to give out tickets)," said Fran Wilanksy, whose property on Oslo borders the school and its park.

Wilansky decried the lack of action by elected or school officials. "I don't know if they're waiting for a child to get hit," she said.

After appearing at town hall in Dollard with some neighbours, Wilansky obtained a promise by Dollard Mayor Ed Janiszewski that he would speak to the school about the possibility of opening up the currently forbidden parking lot.

"These people are very, very inconsiderate of the residents of the area," said Marcia Greenspon, interviewed standing on the porch of her home on Carlton, looking at a car that had been left around the bend on her street mere moments ago by a mother rushing to the park with her children.

"I like kids but I don't like what's going on," she added.

Dollard city manager Jacques Benzaquen said public security is stepping up its patrols of the area to give out tickets to those parked illegally, but that he had been told not much of that has been going on lately. "(The head of public security) mentioned to me that there are many cars that are parked legally, and he hasn't seen too many infractions," he said.

When The Chronicle visited the area on a Thursday night, a few vehicles could be seen parked illegally, some on the side of Oslo where no parking is allowed between 5 and 11 p.m., and a van even left along the length of one home's driveway.

"We have a good relationship with all the school boards here," Benzaquen said, adding that perhaps a further solution to the parking problem could be found.

He noted the board had recently opened up a school bus lane used to disembark students in the mornings that is parallel to the park for cars, and said Dollard's recreation department is now telling parents to try and leave their vehicles there.

Meanwhile, he said, one potential problem, even if the parking lot itself does end up being available to parents, could be its distance.

"People like to park in front of where they're going to," he said.

The parking lot, located on Greenview behind the school on Anselme Lavigne, is a five-minute walk from the park.