Residents raise concerns over museum's parking plans

Posted Jan 26, 2012 By Michelle Nash

EMC news - Centretown residents voiced their opposition at a recent public meeting to the Museum of Nature's plans to turn what was once a green space into additional parking.

The museum announced its plans to create a parking lot on the west side of the property in December and a second open house regarding the issue was held on Jan. 19 to update the public about the process.

Starting in 2004, the museum began renovations that significantly affected the parkland to the west side of the building. At first the space was used as a construction staging site. Now that the renovations have been completed, the space serves as an overflow parking area.

Residents in the area had hoped the space would be returned to its previous state as parkland, but museum chief executive Margaret Beckel said demand for parking is far too great and parking on the west side of the building will be made permanent.

"We are not thrilled with this result, but we have to be reasonable and we have to be responsible," Beckel said.

The museum said it is losing $2.5 million annually and the cost of an underground parking lot, part of the original renovation plans, is no longer an option because of the $10 million price tag.

This proposal to turn the space on the west side of the building into a parking lot would cost significantly less - $500,000 for 130 parking spaces.

Using the site as outdoor museum space or restoring it as parkland are not options, according to Beckel.

"We are doing everything possible to close that gap, and we are going to restore as much of that park as we can, but we are expected to deal with parking on our own," she said.

One suggestion from the residents gathered was to ask visitors to find alternate means of travelling to the museum, such as walking or public transit.

Beckel said this wasn't an option for the museum either.

"That is a risk we can't take, (visitors) won't go to a museum that does not have parking. This is a visitor destination so we need to provide the amenities that make it a visitor destination."

Since the renovations were completed in 2010, there have been 96 parking spots on the east side of the building. Beckel said analysis done during the holiday season had shown they need to increase this number to cover peak visiting times.

The residents do not agree. One speaker, Greg Fougere, said the community performed their own analysis regarding peak parking times over the same days and had noticed a peak in demand only on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, both Saturdays. Fougere did not see this as a need to add more parking and questioned the museum's intent for adding more parking spaces.

"The museum is not here to meet the city's needs in parking," Fougere said. "And what is so frustrating is that it seems like you have already made up your mind."

Fougere lives on McLeod Street and said the loss of parkland in the community is not being addressed.

Beckel defended the plans, stating they want to maintain as much parkland as possible, which seemed to infuriate the residents even more.

As the museum is crown land, the corporation is required to consult with the National Capital Commission on any plans they wish to pursue, making the NCC's March meeting the first opportunity for the museum to present their plans, Beckel said.

Construction is tentatively planned to begin this coming fall.

michelle.nash@metroland.com