Heather Wright/The Independent

Warwick Township’s insurance company and bylaw enforcement officials from Lambton County say wrong-way parking on residential streets should not be allowed.

Robert Alcock came to council Monday after getting a ticket for parking the wrong way on his residential street. Warwick’s parking bylaw was changed in 2024 to say it is not allowed.

Alcock thinks allowing cars to park whatever direction they want on Nauvoo Road or a highway could be unsafe, but on a residential street, it should not be an issue. “I would think backing out a laneway in the traffic is more unsafe,” he said. “Backing out of angled parking at the arena, especially if you’re parked next to a truck, is much more unsafe.

Alcock called the rule “bureaucratic overkill” and “against common sense.”

In a report to council Feb. 24, the township’s insurance company suggested it drivers cannot see well to check if they are clear to enter the lane if parked in the wrong direction making it “more dangerous” for the driver and other road users. The company also said parking in the opposite direction could cause confusion for oncoming traffic.

Kelly Bedard, a Lambton County bylaw enforcement officer says nine out of 10 neighbouring municipalities in Lambton prohibit the practice. Plympton-Wyoming’s parking bylaw allowed it, but that’s about to be changed, she says.

Bedard is concerned about the safety of the practice.

“When you pull away from the curb, you are entering, crossing the line of traffic, and really it doesn’t have anything to do with the size of the city. Some of that argument has been made that Warwick and the hamlet of Watford is very small. It doesn’t matter. It’s still crossing the line of traffic causing the hazard,” she said.

Mayor Todd Case questioned the issue futher and asked that Bedard “what would happen if we took it out and it wasn’t in there anymore; would we still be legally able to do that, or would we put ourselves in a bad situation legally?”

Bedard will take the question back to the county’s solicitor to answer.