News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 02, 2020
 8.4K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
 39K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
 4.7K     0 

It's their property and business to operate as they see fit, within legislation. They own the taxes, construction/maintenance costs, liability, etc. If you live near a subway stop, is your driveway fair game? If the presence of a private parking lot near a transit hub is that publicly important, I'm sure they'd be willing to lease part of it.

Well, yes........to a point.

But as @reaperexpress just noted above, municipalities in Ontario do in fact have wide-ranging authority of your or anyone's private property, and that extends well beyond zoning and site plans.
Fence-by laws govern placement and height; rules govern drive way widths and turning radii; and by-laws can require permeable areas and stormwater management etc etc.
Just because one owns property does not give one carte blanche on how to use it or maintain it.

****

Also, merely because one may be permitted to do something, does not mean one ought to do that thing.
Does antagonizing a portion of one's customer base really serve the interest of the retailer? Perhaps, but I would be cautious in drawing that conclusion.
I think the value of being perceived to be a good corporate citizen should likely outweigh any marginal costs associated with greater pedestrian use of their parking lot, in this case.
As also noted, there are other ways to address all-day parking that may pose a challenge to the business.

The town certainly needs to be accorded some blame for what it did not secure in the approvals process.
But it also doesn't look great on the business either.
 
Last edited:
The Crossways, across the street from Dundas West Station and next door to the Bloor GO Station, has for DECADES, not allowed access for a second entrance to the subway station or a more direct access to the GO/UPX station.
The-Creccal-the-crossways.jpg
From link.

There was "talk" about this back in 2011, but getting...
giphy.gif
From link.

From link.
On September 1, 2017, Metrolinx filed an application for approval to expropriate property to move forward with plans for the new connection.
 
The Crossways, across the street from Dundas West Station and next door to the Bloor GO Station, has for DECADES, not allowed access for a second entrance to the subway station or a more direct access to the GO/UPX station.
The-Creccal-the-crossways.jpg
From link.

There was "talk" about this back in 2011, but getting...
giphy.gif
From link.

From link.
Property expropriation is a 15 month process under the act.
But the fact that the Crossways is not actively pushing for a underground connection shows how poorly run management is. I mean, who doesn’t want plenty of new business to their underground mall?
They’ve gone full faulty towers.
 
Property expropriation is a 15 month process under the act.
But the fact that the Crossways is not actively pushing for a underground connection shows how poorly run management is. I mean, who doesn’t want plenty of new business to their underground mall?
They’ve gone full faulty towers.
But, but, but... Ford Nation says the private sector can do no wrong!
 
There was "talk" about this back in 2011, but getting...
There was talk about this in the early 1970s when they were building the GO station. We've discussed this before in the thread here about he project - which itself dates to 2011!

 
The locations at which a private property is accessed from the public right-of-way is within the jurisdiction of municipalities. It's one of the common areas of disccusion for new planning applications. It's less common to adjust property access after a building is already built, but it is certainly possible. For example, the city may require a driveway to be relocated or even permanently closed as part of a road reconstruction project.

I never suggested that they should allow people to use their parking lot for public transit purposes, in fact I suggested ways of preventing such use.
Then I misunderstood.
Well, yes........to a point.

But as @reaperexpress just noted above, municipalities in Ontario do in fact have wide-ranging authority of your or anyone's private property, and that extends well beyond zoning and site plans.
Fence-by laws govern placement and height; rules govern drive way widths and turning radii; and by-laws can require permeable areas and stormwater management etc etc.
Just because one owns property does not give one carte blanche on how to use it or maintain it.

****

Also, merely because one may be permitted to do something, does not mean one ought to do that thing.
Does antagonizing a portion of one's customer base really serve the interest of the retailer? Perhaps, but I would be cautious in drawing that conclusion.
I think the value of being perceived to be a good corporate citizen should likely outweigh any marginal costs associated with greater pedestrian use of their parking lot, in this case.
As also noted, there are other ways to address all-day parking that may pose a challenge to the business.

The town certainly needs to be accorded some blame for what it did not secure in the approvals process.
But it also doesn't look great on the business either.
I never said they had carte blanche; that's why I added "within legislation". If the municipality wanted to extract some 'community benefit' from the development of the site they could have extracted that at the time. I will assume the later fence was constructed under a building permit, which was the municipality's opportunity to deny it or demand modification.

Should they fence their property? That's a corporate decision made by a company based in Atlanta they get to live with. Perhaps they envisioned, or experienced, all the prime parking spots taken up by early commuters, forcing their customers into more inconvenient areas. Perhaps the flow of commuter traffic was interfering with their delivery or customer traffic. Perhaps their corporate counsel was being particularly risk averse, as many are, envisioning complaints of personal and property liability. We don't know. There are all sorts of property owners, notably strip malls, around transit, high schools, hospitals, etc. with aggressive parking enforcement policies.
 
Then I misunderstood.

I never said they had carte blanche; that's why I added "within legislation". If the municipality wanted to extract some 'community benefit' from the development of the site they could have extracted that at the time. I will assume the later fence was constructed under a building permit, which was the municipality's opportunity to deny it or demand modification.

Should they fence their property? That's a corporate decision made by a company based in Atlanta they get to live with. Perhaps they envisioned, or experienced, all the prime parking spots taken up by early commuters, forcing their customers into more inconvenient areas. Perhaps the flow of commuter traffic was interfering with their delivery or customer traffic. Perhaps their corporate counsel was being particularly risk averse, as many are, envisioning complaints of personal and property liability. We don't know. There are all sorts of property owners, notably strip malls, around transit, high schools, hospitals, etc. with aggressive parking enforcement policies.
Maybe they should do what Yorkdale Mall does...

From link.

TTC Commuter Parking​


Yorkdale offers TTC commuter parking on Monday – Friday from 5:30am to 9:30am, in the East “E” parkade on levels P3, P4, and P5 for a fee of $7.
 
The Crossways, across the street from Dundas West Station and next door to the Bloor GO Station, has for DECADES, not allowed access for a second entrance to the subway station or a more direct access to the GO/UPX station.
The-Creccal-the-crossways.jpg
From link.

There was "talk" about this back in 2011, but getting...
giphy.gif
From link.

From link.
The full quote reads:

"Since the 1980s, the TTC and GO Transit had been planning a direct connection between Dundas West Station and Bloor GO Station with the preliminary design completed in April 1987. However, there were disagreements with Crossways staff in regards to compensatory payment for the loss of parking spaces and easements at their building. In addition, trains along the Georgetown line only operated during the peak-period. The cost of the new connection outweighed its potential use and as a result, nothing had materialized.[2]

With the introduction of the Union Pearson Express airport rail link in 2015 and its increasing ridership over the years, the demand for a weather-protected and direct connection between Dundas West TTC Station and Bloor GO Station could not have been greater. On September 1, 2017, Metrolinx filed an application for approval to expropriate property to move forward with plans for the new connection.[3] The intial cost of the 270-metre tunnel was estimated at $23 million.[4] Negotiations have dragged on since with no announcement for the start date of construction — Metrolinx cited the change of building ownership at The Crossways development as the causes of the delay. Construction is expected to begin in late 2020.[5]"
 
^I accept full responsibilty for this mishap, as I chose to wear an Argos T-shirt for my first day ride…. The lightning got intense as soon as we left Bronte ;-)

Service turned back at Burlington, but while I was waiting there for a shuttle bus, the CN roadswitcher that works the Ford plant at Oakville passed through, so the problem was likely at or west of Aldershot.

- Paul
 

Back
Top