Edmonton building fewer parking stalls than infill housing units

Edmontonians worried about parking problems with an influx of multifamily infill homes now have some data to back up their concerns.

New data in a memo sent to city council in June, released publicly July 30, shows on average, more housing units were built last year than on-site parking stalls. Edmonton removed minimum parking requirements for new developments in 2020.

The data doesn’t come as a surprise to some who live in neighbourhoods seeing more infill activity. 

“It’s already hard to park in front of my house already. And now we’re adding 16 units to (my) street, so it will probably be near impossible to park. And when the LRT comes in, it will be even more difficult,” said James Coghill. “I just don’t know where we’re going to park, to be honest with you.”

Coghill lives in Crestwood where for every two new units built, one parking stall was added in 2024, data shows.

He’s one of several people who spoke to CityNews about parking concerns stemming from two multi-unit complexes that, together, will add 16 housing units to the same block in Crestwood.

Neighbours fear the influx of new residents without adding stalls will create parking headaches if all the new residents bring their own vehicles.

“It’s really disappointing to see what we have to live with now. I just hope the city puts the brakes on some of this,” said neighbour Lori Nelson.

“I bike to work. I’m a supporter of transit, but we also have to be real,” said Neil Bourgeois, who lives a few blocks away. “People are going to be driving cars and parking cars. And so I think absolutely we need to consider that in any new development.”

Parking Spaces in Low and Medium Density Residential Zones by CityNewsToronto on Scribd

The numbers tell a similar story when it comes to eight-plexes in other central neighbourhoods. 

As well, new homes with more parking are found more frequently outside Anthony Henday Drive where there is less access to public transit.

Jacob Dawang, an organizer with Grow Together Edmonton, said the data supports the reasoning behind removing parking minimums.

“Most of the infill that’s going in is within a short bus ride, bike ride, or walk to transit, or future transit. There might not be LRT there today, but when we’re looking 40 or 50 years down the road, I expect transit will be a lot better,” he said. “I don’t think this is a problem. This is working exactly as intended.”

But Ward Anirniq Councillor Erin Rutherford, who asked for the research, says parking issues are real in some areas she represents, such as Prince Charles and Inglewood.

“They have seen a lot of infill over the last 20 years, and now are even seeing an increase in that. So we’re actually, really, genuinely seeing some parking issues emerge,” said Rutherford.

Not every neighbourhood with infill has strong bus or LRT connections.

Rutherford is planning to make a motion at an upcoming city council meeting to look at bringing back minimum parking for new homes far away from mass transit.

The two-part plan would look at new conditions for parking in districts without sufficient public transit, and how spaces at the curb — rules for on-street parking — might be better regulated.

“Reliance on cars is still significant in some of these neighborhoods,” said Rutherford. “So if we’re not building parking, people are still going to have cars in those neighborhoods, and that’s where you’re going to start to see the problems with on-street parking becoming more and more of a conflict point.”