Parents call for parking solutions outside east-end Toronto daycare amid safety concerns

For parents at one Beaches daycare, getting a $150 parking ticket is a bit of a rite of passage. A years-long battle over parking spaces near Lullaboo Nursery and Child Care Center means that parents are now used to the daily presence of parking enforcement officers at pick-up and drop-off times.

For parents at one Beaches daycare, getting a $150 parking ticket is a bit of a rite of passage.

A years-long battle over parking spaces near Lullaboo Nursery and Child Care Center means that parents are now used to the daily presence of parking enforcement officers at pick-up and drop-off times.

“I've watched plenty of parents every day getting ticketed,” said Shelby Black, who sends her two-year-old daughter to Lullaboo.

Black said the daycare’s entrance is located right on Queen Street East, just west of Victoria Park Avenue, and is in a rush hour “no-stopping” zone. She added that unlike many other daycares in the city, there are no designated parking spaces for drop-off or pick-up.

“Parents are left with no other choice because there's no parking," she said. 

She said there are a handful of spots on the other side of Queen Street but they are often occupied. She noted that that there is also no crosswalk in the area for parents to cross Queen Street safely.

“It’s a safety concern because I see parents, including myself, running across Queen trying to get their kids (to daycare),” she said. “Eventually someone's going to get hit.”