Frustration is growing about illegal parking on a popular street in downtown Halifax.

Argyle Street is meant to meet the needs of both pedestrians and drivers, but bringing those two together has had unintended consequences.

“A lot of people are parking on the sides of the roads where it says ‘No Parking’, and ‘Tow Away Zone,’ said Emily Mckim, an actor from Saint John, visiting Halifax for a play at Neptune Theatre.

The street was re-designed several years ago to be more people focused. Mckim says it’s been just the opposite.

“It’s not pavement, and it’s the same as the tiles everywhere else,” said Mckim.

Vehicles have been seen parking illegally in loading zones, accessible spaces, and even on the sidewalk.

“This is probably one of the most accessible streets in the province, but there are a few problems,” said Gerry Post, accessibility advocate and executive director of the Accessibility Directorate.

One of the main issues is safety.

“We have some residents, drivers, who seem to like to park on the sidewalk,” said Post. “It’s a lot of the time and it forces me on the road because I can’t get through.”

“Here’s another person. This is within three minutes we’ve had two people parking on the sidewalk,” said Post, as he watches people illegally park.

According to the city, there is a parking enforcement officer who covers this area and should be checking the street once every hour. They say they write up about seven to 10 tickets every day.

 In the month of May alone, the city issued 219 tickets on Argyle Street.

“And that would be for parking infrastructures including no parking, no stopping, and being parked in a loading zone for too long,” said Halifax spokesperson, Brynn Langille.

Jeremy Webb, the artistic director of Neptune Theatre, says the vehicles are always parking illegally in loading zones.

“Every night, hundreds of people arrive to be dropped off and we certainly have trucks of our own delivering scenery a few times a week. It’s a busy spot,” said Webb.

The city is considering setting certain times for loading and deliveries to help cut down congestion.

Post says he would like to see more done to eliminate the confusion, and make the street more accessible, and safer for everyone.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Heidi Petracek