Nicholas Travascio, who lives in Toronto’s west end and relies on the Mimico GO train to get him downtown, has been getting a jump start to his weekdays.
“Instead of getting a reasonable amount of sleep, I’m up way too early,” Travascio said.
It’s a daily battle as he and hundreds of other GO commuters who park at this station try to find a spot.
“The station’s parking lot is often full before 6:30 a.m.,” he told Speakers Corner. “I will come as early as possible but most days I have to find parking on the streets around the lot as there are no spots available.”
Some of that street parking was free up until last week, when commuters like Travascio noticed new parking meters being installed.
“It’s only around five bucks for the day, but it’s the inconvenience of the City trying to make a few bucks instead of finding a more reasonable solution that helps people.”
According to the Toronto Parking Authority, the meters were installed to address problems that occurred due to the lack of parking in the GO station, which is not managed by them but by Metrolinx.
Nearby residents and businesses had been complaining about the lack of parking enforcement due to the overflow from the GO station lot.
“In order to address the parking needs of commuters, we made a special accommodation for this location. Fees are charged on a 12-hour basis instead of on the usual hourly basis, so the cost is 5.50 per 12 hours instead of 5.50 per hour,” said Jeff Deaa, vice-president of business Development at the Toronto Parking Authority.
While some commuters say the meters and additional signage, indicating where parking is and is not permitted around the station, will also help avoid parking tickets they’ve incurred, they say the real issue remains with Metrolinx and the lack of free parking in the station’s lot.
“There hasn’t been enough parking here for years and it’s frustrating,” said commuter Julean Albidoni.
Several non-reserved spots were taken away years ago to make way for plans to build a brand new “transit oriented” community spearheaded by Vandyk Properties, which signed an agreement with Metrolinx. The plans called for housing, retail and the construction of a new parking garage opening up 300 spots for GO train commuters. But those plans went bust after the developer’s lands went into court-appointed receivership.
Late last year, Metrolinx terminated its agreement with Vandyk Properties.
“So for years, we’ve been staring at remnants of a stalled project with all of this land wasted,” Travascio said. “How hard is it to open these spots up, even temporary, for parking?”
Speakers Corner asked Metrolinx about that.
“Metrolinx has thoroughly explored all viable alternatives for additional parking at this station; however, no further opportunities for expansion are currently available,” a spokesperson told Speakers Corner. “The area that is blocked off is within the lands previously owned by Vandyk – while Metrolinx had been leasing these lands for temporary parking, the lands are currently under receivership and do not belong to Metrolinx.”
The spokesperson said a GO Rail Station Access Plan outlines a vision to enhance station access by expanding pick-up/drop-off facilities, improving pedestrian access, and increasing bike parking. But the target date for those plans is still years away.
Metrolinx recommends commuters find alternative ways to get to the GO station, which they claim a majority of users are already doing.
“Recent data shows that just six- to seven per cent of customers are driving and parking at this station, whereas 33 per cent walk, 24 per cent are dropped off and 17 per cent use public transit,” the spokesperson said.
Not the answer commuters like Albidoni, one of the ‘six- to seven per cent’ who drive here were hoping to hear as an already frustrating parking situation just got more costly.
“Trying to find an actual solution to this mess seems like the easier option rather than trying to nickel and dime everyone in Toronto.”
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