Sanguen health van can't stop outside The Bridges shelter in Cambridge after parking dispute with city

Staff who run the Sanguen Health Centre say they need to find a new parking spot for its community health van after the City of Cambridge said the vehicle can no longer park outside of The Bridges emergency shelter.

The van — which provides various items and services to people without a place to stay, including food, drinks, blankets, and harm reduction supplies — has been parking outside of The Bridges since 2017, said Simone Morrison, manager of outreach and education with Sanguen.

The van normally parks at the location for an hour on Tuesday afternoons. During that hour, the van sees up to 50 people make use of its services, Morrison said.

However, last summer, the City of Cambridge's bylaw department told the agency they can no longer park in that location. There are signs in the area indicating parking is prohibited.

"We're not quite sure why we are no longer to park there," Morrison said.

"We've been doing it for a long time without any any major issues or anything like that," she added. "We have quite a number of people that we've been supporting there. So from our perspective, we're not 100 per cent sure why other than the no parking signs."

Morrison said the van is parked where it's needed.

"We go where folks who access the van want us to be," she said. "So we're very intentional with chatting with people, seeing where they spend their time, where they're comfortable and that's going to be different per person."

Cambridge director of communications Alana Russell told CBC News via email that the city has been in communication with Sanguen about the parking issue for a long period of time.

She said Sanguen had requested a parking exemption to continue using the spot, but it was denied as when the van is parked there, it's blocking a live lane of traffic.

"Emergency vehicles need to be able to have access to the road and to respond effectively," Russell wrote. "Fire trucks would not be able to pass or park properly if the roadway was blocked. The roadway only allows for a single lane of traffic on either side."

Also, she stated, "inviting pedestrians, their belongings, and supplies into a live lane of traffic is a clear safety issue," and "sight lines and motorist traffic in this downtown location would be unsafe for all community members using the roadway."

Morrison said Sanguen is hoping to find another available parking spot somewhere close to The Bridges.

In her email, Russell said Sanguen is a regional public health initiative and the city's only involvement has been related to parking.