The Canmore RCMP is reminding the public that unsafe parking violations near the Grotto Recreation area and Gap Lake will result in fines.

On Saturday, January 30, 2021, the Canmore RCMP received several complaints of vehicles being parked on the shoulder of Highway 1A near the Grotto Recreation area in both directions.

Canmore mounties observed several vehicles that were parked in front of signage and deemed it to be a major safety violation, potentially causing a risk to other users of the Highway.

RCMP say that there are plenty of signs clearly advising against parking in these areas. In addition to the permanent signage in the area, there is a large temporary sign set up at the entry to the parking lot stating that there is "no parking permitted" on the highway or the ditch.

Sergeant Stan Andronyk with the Canmore RCMP says that they have responded to numerous parking complaints on Highway 1A near Gap Lake and the Grotto Recreation area over the past few months, and  despite the time spent engaging and educating motorists, the problem seems to be escalating with motorists "blatantly ignoring signage and warnings." 

"Parking on the shoulder of the highway is just one part of the problem.  People are standing around their vehicles with doors and trunks open, walking on the highway in order to access the recreation areas, many appearing to forget or disregard that they are on a primary highway," says  Andronyk, "There has also been a collision and a number of near-misses caused by driver’s slowing quickly and performing U-turns in the middle of the highway in order to park."

Canmore Mounties have issued a number of violation tickets who they say were "blatantly disregarding no parking signage in the area." The penalty for contravening this section is $162.00.