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8- The Oakville Beaver, Friday July 14, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Downtown Oakville is short on parking spaces By Melanie Cummings SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Parking study says Church Street parkade is underused aren't enough. The town is looking for potential parking lots in the area such as, the post office at Randall and George streets, the Department of National Defence property at Thomas and Robinson streets and the CIBC lot at Church and George streets. The town is also looking for another option instead of the current loading and unloading by delivery trucks in the middle of Lakeshore Road East. Improved transit and more bylaw officers to better enforce the two-hour maximum time to park on Water, Robinson, Dunn and Allan streets, was also approved by councillors. The loss of 30 parking spaces at the corner of Dunn and Church streets has to be replaced, and the Church Street Parkade with its 285 spaces was identified as being underused. Better lighting, security and signage were recommended in the report. Adding to the planning headache is the unknown needs of newly-built mixed live/work buildings popping up in these areas. It's unknown whether the tenants in the live/work units are actually occupying both spaces, as intended, or whether they are two distinct occupants. Parking demands are higher for the latter. There are already mixed residential and commercial condominiums at 100 Bronte Rd. and 2464 Lakeshore Rd. W. The Bronte site has 66 living units and nearly 1,200 square metres of office/commercial space while the other has 45 residential and 280 square metres of commercial space. Urban planner Ruth Victor represents a company currently building on Kerr Street. She requested the town hold off on demanding developers put in place more parking spots per square metre. The previous figure required one parking spot be set aside for every 40 square metres of office/retail space. The study suggests that figure be lowered to one parking spot for every 32.6 square metres of residential space. That would take away from the façade of the live/work space design, said Victor. The original layout put 10 parking spots in the back of the building. The new demand would mean adding three more parking spots at the side of the building. "It would detract from the building," said Victor. The alternative to take away one of the units, would negatively impact the developer's economic viability, she added. "We feel we're being judged without the product on the ground. It's as much in our interest to see the project work well, as it is for the town," said Victor. Staff is expected to bring a report back to councillors that would evaluate the parking needs of these live work buildings, in the first quarter of 2007. Finding a place to park a car has become the bane of urban drivers everywhere. And at Tuesday night's planning and development council meeting, politicians spent as much time debating parking spaces for the downtown areas in Bronte, Lakeshore Road East and Kerr Street, as frustrated drivers spend searching for a nearby spot. The good news is there's a good supply in Bronte and Kerr streets to accommodate retail growth, according to a commercial parking study undertaken by the engineering and construction department. Kerr Street business area has 1,203 spaces and Bronte has 1,616 spots. But, the 2,291 public parking spaces in the Lakeshore Road East commercial district Top marks for regional school tour program The Region's School Tour Program has received top grades once again. Last month, the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) presented Halton Region with an Award of Merit for the program, recognizing it as a great example of reaching out to external stakeholders. This is the second award for the initiative, which received a communications Award of Merit from the Hamilton Chapter of CPRS at its Pinnacle Awards in March. The program provides local Grade · ROHDE · MEPHISTO · DANIEL HECHTER PARIS · BIRKENSTOCK · RIEKER · ARA · SALAMANDER · ROHDE · MEPHISTO 5 students with a chance to learn about things like the role of regional council and offers tours of places such as police headquarters and the Halton Waste Management Site. "Our residents don't always know how we touch their lives on a daily basis," said Regional Chairman Joyce Savoline. "Through this field trip we can educate our youth on the program and services we provide so they become knowledgeable regarding Halton Region's responsibilities." The Region is now looking at ways to expand the program. · ROHDE · MEPHISTO · DANIEL HECHTER PARIS · BIRKENSTOCK · RIEKER · ARA · SALAMANDER · ROHDE · ROHDE · MEPHISTO · DANIEL HECHTER PARIS · BIRKENSTOCK · RIEKER · ARA · SALAMANDER · ROHDE · MEPHISTO SUMMER SALE SUITS Including Arnold Brant, Canali, Coppley and more. Regular Price $695 to $1,895 Enjoy the hot deals at Ingeborg Shoes Warehouse Store Famous European Brand Names All Under One Roof SPORT JACKETS from & 399 DRESS PANTS Now as $ 99 $ Low as 79 799 $579 % % SAVE 20 TO 50 By Coppley Now as Low as $ 9999 $ 26999 to Suits are Valued Priced at $ Regular Price $450 to $795 CUSTOM ORDERED SUITS AND SPORT JACKETS Jackets are Valued Priced at On Casual and Sportswear from Victorinox, Axis, Cutter & Buck, Signum and more. · MEPHISTO LIMITED TIME ONLY. SHOP EARLY FOR BEST SELECTION. 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