In April, the Spacing Wire reported on a plan to turn some waterfront parkland near the newly renovated Palais Royale into a parking lot.
The Parkdale Liberty is reporting (scroll down — June 3, 2006) that the plan has been reconsidered in light of vehement local opposition. The city is instead going to try suggestions made by citizens at a public meeting on the subject.
The City is now considering putting parking on the median in front of the Palais. However, the restored Palais is slated to open in June, and the median parking lot would not be ready for six months.
In the meantime, the City is considering allowing the Palais to employ a pre-existing public parking lot to the west of the facility on event days —- at least for the summer, when golf carts could ferry guests between the facility and the lot.
I’m not sure how far away this existing parking lot is, but is it so difficult to imagine visitors could consider simply walking along the beautiful lakefront park to the Palais Royale from the parking lot? (Although if the lot is east of the Palais, the walk is not so attractive because some of it is away from the water due to private ownership of the waterfront itself).
Thanks to Roger Brook for the story link.
6 comments
Lets hope that Sylvia Watson is now paying attention to the community. This beach area is almost uncomercialized; something that is really hard to find these days. There is a quiet beauty to Sunnyside that doesnt need fixing.
Sylvia Watson, keep your privatizing hands off Sunnyside!
Scott Dobson
Sylvia is hell bent on privatilizing Sunnyside. She’s now adamant that she’ll pave the parkland median so that the Palais Royale will have it’s own parking lot… and, of course, trying to sweeten that betrayal by saying that it can be a public parking lot when not in use (by the special functions held by Pegasus Group). As if we don’t have enough cars, exhaust fumes and other environmentally toxic issues at our waterfront! Sunnyside not only does not need fixing… it does not need Sylvia Watson. Nor does it need politicians trying to score their own kudos. Sylvia Watson is THE biggest disappontment ever to move to Parkdale!! She obviously has her sights set on a bigger political position… at the expense of those who trusted her. I voted for her once.. but will not vote for her ever again no matter what seat she takes, no matter how big her promises.
Well, it will be interesting to see what happens in the fall at the election.
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2.5 minutes is how long it takes to walk from the front door of the Palais to the Roncesvalles/King/Queen intersection, over that bridge. But the pereception is so much farther, the gulf of RR tracks and expressway…so how do you make people realize that walking, say, that distance, is probably shorter than the walk they take to get to the Sears entrance at Square One on a busy saturday?
I have faith though, that in a few years, all this peak oil talk with finally make some kind of sea change in the way North Americans, at least semi-urban ones, view car driving and associated ideas of space and place. Or maybe i’m surrounded by too many bike riding hippies downtown, and it will never happen in the population at large…
It’s bothersome that a good thing like the revitalized and reno’d Palais Royale is caught up in a dumb, anacronistic car debate.
I was at an event at Palais Royale last week and TTC’d it there. It took about 15 minutes from the core (including the lovely walk across the bridge).
I got a ride home from a friend and he parked in the lot just east of the Palais. The walk to that lot is barely 2 minutes (although they were offering a shuttle service for those who wanted it).
I only see parking being an issue for those with a suburban mindset who want to be able to see their car from the door of the place. Palais Royale would also be smart to advertise how easy it is to get to via TTC as some people forget about the bridge that easily connects it to three major streetcar lines.
I meant the lot just “west” of the Palais. I don’t think there’s an edit feature here. Sorry!
Just what we need, another parking lot. The cars will have a fantastic view of Lake Ontario.
Come on. We walked to Sunnyside from Mimico last summer. It was a good walk. Also we went to Sunnyside Sundays. It was a great day for us.
Fix Sunnyside but at what expense. Giving away beachfront to some private club to enjoy?
Sylia do the right thing here. Don’t let the beachfront and Sunnyside fall into private hands.