Councillor Waye Mason says this is costing taxpayers money, because parking enforcement officers and police have been upping their patrols in the area

A small addition to Argyle Street in Downtown Halifax is expected to make a big difference in the battle to make the road as pedestrian friendly as possible.

You might notice a part of argyle street now has benches, which isn't intended to give people more places to sit. Instead, it's aimed at preventing vehicles from parking there.

Councillor Waye Mason says a business on Argyle was consistently using the area in front of it's shop for deliveries.

Mason told the Rick Howe Show the problem has only been getting worse.

"We have foot patrols of parking officers on Argyle Street every hour and the police now are swinging through there two or three times a day, unless there's something else going on in the city, and that's a big waste of your money as a taxpayer," said Mason.

Mason says staff will take about a week to see if the benches fix the problem, and if there's no improvement, they'll take a look at whether the street needs to be fully closed to vehicle traffic for longer periods.

