Lack of visitor parking in new Toronto condos impacting ‘social isolation’: councillor
Global News
New condos being built in Toronto – especially in the suburbs – are excluding a certain group: visitors arriving by car, one councillor is arguing.
New condos being built in Toronto – especially in the suburbs – are excluding a certain group: visitors arriving by car, one councillor is arguing.
Willowdale Coun. Lily Cheng is calling on city staff to consider the “greater need” for visitor parking in the suburbs. When compared with the downtown, new projects in those areas are coming with a lack of visitor parking spaces that could result in a spillover of illegal parking in surrounding areas, she said.
“New developments are being approved with minimal visitor parking. This will present some foreseeable challenges, especially in the suburbs where there is neither permitted street parking, nor sufficient public parking lots available,” Cheng said in an ask to the city’s planning and housing committee.
“Having sufficient visitor parking is very important to ensure that people with visitors have somewhere for their visitors to park. Further, we want to ensure there is sufficient visitor parking to encourage social interactions rather than presenting visitor parking challenges that could exacerbate the already serious social isolation that is happening in our city.”
As an example, Cheng said a development in her ward was originally proposed with 513 residential units, and only seven visitor parking spaces. She said the developer agreed to increase the amount of visitor parking spots to 14 after talks, but Cheng said that will still be “too low” to meet potential demand.
“The impact of limited visitor parking will spill over to the surrounding areas resulting in illegal parking or having no parking left for visitors of those who live in longstanding surrounding communities,” she said in her ask, which is supported by Scarborough Rouge-Park Coun. Jennifer McKelvie.
“Taxpayers will have to absorb the costs of dealing with these challenges created by the cost savings enjoyed by developers in offering limited visitor parking in new high-density developments.”
The issue can be looked at as part of the city’s ongoing review of parking requirements in the zoning bylaw, and Ontario’s Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, Cheng said. She’s asking for a report due no later than the fourth quarter of 2024.
Sonder Bridge, a new non-profit organization in Edmonton, builds care packages and then hands them out, along with a hot meal, once or twice a month to those living rough.
Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness is raising concerns about the recommendations including the establishment of a municipally owned corporation to manage Calgary's water system.
A new report shows that even though the COVID-19 pandemic ended several years ago, the increase in issues around mental health and substance use still continue.
A coroner's inquest into the 2024 death of a Saskatchewan man who was working at a wind farm construction site in New Brunswick has begun.
The proposed changes, which were recommended by the Transportation Standing Committee, aim to impose new licensing requirements on ridesharing services.
The case of an Ontario woman who has been missing for four years after she was abducted may have ties to Quebec and the United Arab Emirates.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones launched a plan to spend $1.8 billion on primary care — rolling out more physicians, nurse practitioners and multidisciplinary teams.
Carney is travelling to B.C. for the meeting, along with Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, whose relationship with Coastal First Nations got off to a rocky start.
In December, 1.3 million Canadians returned from the U.S. by automobile, a 'steep decline' of 30.7 per cent from the same month in 2024, according to new Statistics Canada data.
The once-a-day semaglutide pill is approved for reducing the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, the company said in a statement Monday.
The CAF confirmed Sunday afternoon that members of the Joint Operational Support Group, based in Kingston, Ont., are planning to be in the First Nation for two weeks.
The family of a man who died last week after a physical altercation with security at Saskatchewan's largest hospital is identifying him as Trevor Dubois.
Five group stage matches featuring the likes of Germany, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as a Round of 32 knock-out, are scheduled to take place in Toronto this summer.