Raise the Hammer

He was also saying 'no' to the suggestion from Lloyd Ferguson that we need a mega parking lot down there too. I received this email today regarding this topic from Brian's office. His comments on the vote:

Many of you have expressed interest in the Pan Am Games stadium location in the West Harbour (bounded by Barton, Queen, Bay, and Stuart streets) given its proximity to the Strathcona North neighbourhood just west of Queen Street.

Yesterday, City Council deliberated on the stadium location and received information on the costs and transportation plan for the area. The Transportation Plan was carefully prepared with a recognition that since the West Harbour site was within a neighbourhood, there must be a limit on the number of cars that could infiltrate the area. To this end, there were recommendations on the use of shuttle buses from downtown parking lots, improvements to walkability and cycling infrastructure to encourage pedestrians and folks to use their bikes, a discussion about the role of GO Transit and VIA Rail (with the new service planned shortly with a train station adjacent to LIUNA), no allowance of on-street parking during events (therefore spaces reserved for homeowners), and perhaps most importantly, a limit of 600 parking spaces in an off-street lot by the stadium.

Believing that the Pan Am Games were important to the City, and knowing that we needed to replace the aging Ivor Wynne Stadium, I went into yesterday’s meeting prepared to support the West Harbour stadium location and comforted that a well-thought out transportation plan would protect our neighbourhood.

However, as Council discussed the plan, it became clear that many wanted to expand the car parking to a higher number than the 600 spots. As you know the neighbourhood streets in Strathcona North are narrow and not designed for a lot of vehicle traffic. I believed that the only way a stadium would work was to keep most cars out, and bring people in for events using other modes of travel (shuttles, walking, transit, cycling etc.). Therefore I reversed my earlier thinking and voted against the West Harbour stadium location.

As you may know, City Council voted in the majority to support the West Harbour stadium location. My job now is to ensure that the original transportation plan is followed and that, among other things, there is not an escalation of cars allowed to park in the area.

I am writing you today because I think it is important for you to know why I voted the way I did. I will be holding a community meeting shortly so all of you have the opportunity to see the West Harbour stadium plans as I have, and so we can work together to ensure that there are no negative impacts on our neighbourhood.