Residents of the southeast community of Ogden are calling on the city’s mobility department to strengthen its enforcement efforts after years of vehicles left idle in a public parking lot.

Historical satellite imagery of the area — an unmarked street named Riverside Gate, located just off Lynnview Road SE — shows that the same handful of vehicles have been stationary since spring 2024.

Currently, there are no signs indicating parking restrictions, just one stating that the area is intended for visitors to the local park, Beaverdam Flats.

Lorraine Robinson, a resident and the former president of the Millican Ogden Community Association (MOCA), said that there used to be a sign allowing parking between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., consequently prohibiting overnight parking, but that this was replaced. 

“For some reason, the signage got replaced by the condo,” she said. 

“It kind of disappeared, and all of a sudden they put their own sign, basically indicating that it was their property.”

Robinson said that MOCA raised these concerns with the city in 2024 and that the sign was eventually removed. Nevertheless, she said that it’s for this reason that many believe the long-standing vehicles are allegedly owned by residents of Riverside Gate Condos. 

The complex, located at 203 Lynnview Road SE, has ample parking of its own, Robinson said, which makes the situation irritating because the parked vehicles take up space from park visitors and other community members. 

“That’s the biggest frustration for us, is that this is a parking lot that belongs to the city parks category, and so it should have the correct signage,” she said. 

“Then it would avoid any vehicles even wanting to come and park overnight there.”

The City of Calgary confirmed in an email statement that the parking lot is public property and, as such, that vehicles left there for more than 72 consecutive hours are considered abandoned, which is a parking offence under the bylaw.

Community members said the condo complex is run by a board of directors. LWC emailed a board representative twice requesting comment but received no response. The article will be updated if a statement is received.

Fragmented enforcement part of the problem, residents say

Concerns such as these are managed by Calgary Parking, and so far this year, the city said it has received four complaints regarding long-term vehicle storage there.

Zev Klymochko, the current MOCA president, said that the number of concerned residents is likely much higher, but that the location’s lack of a proper numbered address has hindered the reporting process.

“It’s really hard to report, and to report it to Calgary Parking, they need an address,” he said. 

“It’s been quite a struggle to get the city to sort of uphold their end of the bargain.”

Yet, the city said that residents do not need a formal address to report parking concerns. They acknowledged that the location is not consistently marked across all databases and recommended that residents submit their concerns under the adjacent park.

For example, the road name Riverside Gate is visible on Apple Maps, but not on Google Maps.

“Despite that challenge, we have successfully received enough information on several occasions this year to investigate concerns and take enforcement action,” read the email statement.

“We are also working with internal partners to improve location information associated with the area.”

Of the successfully filed reports, the city said on July 20 that these have “resulted in investigations, enforcement activity and vehicle removals.” But when Klymochko visited the site that same week, he said that nothing changed.

“I just wanted to ride my bike down to see the offending vehicles removed, but they’re not,” he said.

“They said they couldn’t do anything because the proper signage isn’t there.”

City councillor vows to prioritize updating parking lot signage

Ward 9 Coun. Harrison Clark said that he has been made aware of residents’ concerns and that it is his role as a new councillor in an established neighbourhood to find a resolution to gaps in city systems. 

“The context has shifted,” he said. 

“Where this may not have been a problem 20 years ago, it’s a problem now, and so we need to figure out what the appropriate course of action is.”

He said that he has spoken with the Chief Bylaw Officer, Ryan Pleckaitis, who emphasized that the area is indeed public property and that overnight parking is not allowed. Coun. Clark said that installing signs communicating this will be his first step. 

“There are no signs up to clearly make that clear, and so I think that obviously becomes my next point of action,” he said. 

Clark said that he “can appreciate the frustration” felt by residents, saying that vehicles “rotting away without movement” are certainly an agitating sight. He recommended that, in the meantime, residents continue to contact the city with any concerns they may have. 

“I’m a few months into this work, and you realize that there’s a number of lingering legacy problems that haven’t fully found their context yet,” said Clark. 

“The local concern and the emotion around that is very real…it becomes its own part of the problem, but also part of the progress.”