Downtown condo residents have subway stops at their front door, but that’s not true for the east end
Scarborough is at risk of being ignored and overlooked by downtown City Hall once again – this time when it comes to the planning and rules around parking spaces.
It used to be that an apartment or condo building would include multiple floors of parking with dozens if not hundreds of parking spaces. This way, the majority of residents would have somewhere to park their cars. There are condo units that are even sold with two parking spaces in their underground garage.
However, that’s changed in recent years. Now, there are buildings being approved for construction with far fewer parking spaces than the number of units. There are even buildings that have hardly any parking spots. The idea, at least from a planning perspective, is that people can just walk, use a ride share, take public transit or bicycle around.
That’s a nice idea in theory. But real life doesn’t always turn out that way. And especially not in the east end.
I know when I lived in a condo downtown, I walked, took transit and even rode my bike around. But I still owned a car that was parked in the basement parking garage, I just used it less than I do now as an east end resident. As a parent with kids, I can’t imagine living in an apartment building in Scarborough and not owning a vehicle, even if I was close to a transit stop that I used.
Yet if the perspective of downtown planners at City Hall continues to influence east end approvals processes, we could see more buildings constructed with few parking spaces. That’s a problem for both the residents of the buildings and the broader community.
It’s not just residents without vehicles that will move into the building. There will be many residents who own cars who move into the building assuming that they will park their vehicles elsewhere in the neighbourhood. This can lead to a significant increase in demand for a static number of spaces and potential conflict between vehicle owners competing for a limited number of spots. This is a recipe for less liveable communities.
Thankfully, Scarborough city councillors are aware of this disconnect and are working to temper this one size fits all approach.
Scarborough-Guildwood Councillor Paul Ainslie, who is also deputy mayor, put forward a recommendation to Scarborough community council requesting senior staff tackle these concerns.
Councillor Ainslie’s submission points out that “the elimination of minimum parking requirements for new developments in areas that are not well served by transit may result in increased on‑street parking demand, heightened traffic congestion, and spillover parking impacts on established residential neighbourhoods.”
He then asks them “to review the removal of minimum parking requirements as it applies to Scarborough and to report back on the feasibility of pausing the elimination of minimum parking requirements for new developments in Scarborough until enhanced and reliable transit infrastructure is in place.”
One other request is “to review options to restore and expand access to public parking at Scarborough TTC stations.” This is another growing cause for concern, as parking lots at some stations are being downsized or eliminated for development.
It’s good to see Scarborough representatives recognizing that one size doesn’t fit all, especially when it comes to parking. Let’s hope the rest of City Hall comes around to the same view.
