Comment 117038

By RobF (registered) | Posted March 15, 2016 at 22:59:33 in reply to Comment 117025

Lots of people choose to drive 45 minutes or more to and from work each day for various reasons ... that adds up over a lifetime. What's your point.

I don't think the situation is ideal. But let's compare apples to apples. Employees need to walk from just north of Cannon and Ferguson to wherever they work north of Barton for HHSC if they use the proposed new lot off Ferguson ... a little less for the Robert Lot.

Depending on where exactly they work on the campus for the Ferguson lot that is 400-700 metres and an approximately 8-10 minute walk. The temporary parking lot is 3 km and according to Google Maps is a 8 minute drive without traffic or a 15 minute HSR ride on the 2.

So the real issue is waiting time and the convenience of nearby parking ... think about that. And it comes at the expense of transit ridership and possible assessment growth. If I understood right at the hearing, the city goes from receiving minimal property tax revenue from Hotz (the landowner) for the two sites now to absolutely none for 20 years, because the land will be considered used and occupied by a public hospital. Think about that for the larger area of existing surface lots, and the taxes not being paid on land that is supposed to develop into a mix of commercial and residential uses.

I value the hospital, but this surface parking expansion is not a great deal for nearby residents or Hamilton taxpayers. But yes, I heard loud and clear that it is needed for operational reasons ... so employees could drive to work and park. That's a want, not a need. See the above comments about parking on McMaster's campus.

Comment edited by RobF on 2016-03-15 23:05:30

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