Commuters who drive to the Wilson subway station and use the west parking lot will have to find a new place to park as of today.
In 2009, the City of Toronto declared the commuter parking lot at 75 Billy Bishop Way surplus to the TTC’s needs and has transferred the space to Build Toronto for redevelopment purposes.
Mike Zeni, a commuter who has been parking at this lot for years was shocked to hear he will no longer be able to park there. “It’s upsetting because there is already insufficient parking in this area,” he said.
Stuart Green, TTC spokesperson, said the TTC understands the closing of this lot is going to inconvenience a lot of commuters as the space accommodates parking for 610 cars.
Ward 10 councillor James Pasternak said the closing of this lot is particularly bad timing because the Yorkdale commuter lot, which can accommodate up to 1,100 cars, is still way behind in construction.
“For a couple of months we are asking people to make alternative arrangements, such as finding other parking along the line or carpooling and bussing to the station,” said Green. “This is a temporary solution because in mid-February, the Yorkdale [lot] will reopen.”
“We are urging Yorkdale to get the commuter spots open as soon as they can,” said Pasternak.
Pasternak said the decision to develop this lot was made before he was on council. “The dismantling of commuter parking lots will have consequences to our city,” said Pasternak. “There has been a lot of changes with transit, as we are now building an expanded rail system [SmartTrack] and an expanded GO system.”
Pasternak said he has spoken to Build Toronto about possibly delaying the closing down of the Wilson lot.
However, Natalie Pastuszak, with Build Toronto, said this is not an option because there are strict conditions with the lease.
Pastuszak said the proposed retail development will provide goods and services to the neighbourhood. “It’s important to focus on the positive and what we can do now to invest in the area,” she said.
“This new retail development will help the growing community.” Pastuszak said Build Toronto will release a report in the next few weeks that will outline what stores and services the property will include.
Zeni said he will consider parking at Yorkdale once the spots become available. “The other three parking areas here fill up fast, so as of now it looks like taking the bus will be my only option,” he said.
