Parking, parking everywhere, but not a spot to take

Most North Americans can be divided into two groups: those who believe there is a “War on Cars” and those who believe there is a “War of Cars” being waged against pedestrians, cyclists and the environment. There’s evidence on both sides. The most recent skirmish occurred last week when it was announced that “Carpark 246″ in Toronto’s Earlscourt neighbourhood would be decommissioned and turned into a parkette. The lot’s entrance opens off a main street. It has 37 spaces.

According to a media release by Ward Nine city councillor Alejandra Bravo, the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA), which runs the lot, maintains it “is no longer generating adequate revenue.” Hence the transition to parkette. “Supporting the creation of new parks and green spaces in our ward has been a priority of mine for decades,” wrote Bravo. “And a commitment I made to constituents.”

Some were pleased: “Love the idea to turn this into a park,” wrote one Ward Nine resident on social media. “I live just down the street.” Not all, however, were happy. A petition was started to “prevent the demolition of vital community parking lot in Toronto.” One Earlscourt resident wrote on Facebook, “I cannot express the disappointment I feel right now. You personally, and members of your office, sat in meetings with us, Toronto Parking Authority, community members and business owners to come to a solution on this car park that would benefit everyone. Everyone. Everyone at those meetings, including your office, seemed to agree that it was beneficial that the lot stay. But now you suddenly announce its demolition?”

I was shocked by the backlash against the parkette.

How could they not see the benefits?

By turning a parking lot into a parkette, the City of Toronto would provide carbon-neutral housing for up to 70 residents. The move would adhere to the city’s “Vision Zero” approach to homelessness that mandates no politician acknowledge seeing that an entire segment of the population now lives permanently in tents in public parks.

Then I realized residents - despite the fact everyone loves greenspace - were angry about losing parking spaces.

This I understood.

Those who believe in the “War on Cars” want Carpark 246 to remain a parking lot because they claim the lack of parking in the area will hurt businesses and the community. Those who believe in a “War of Cars” think parking lots are wastes of valuable space. They support turning Carpark 246 into a parkette, declaring that getting rid of parking does not hurt businesses and will benefit the community.

Open this photo in gallery:

Those who subscribe to the “War of Cars” ignore the reality that if you get rid of them you must replace them with something else – such as frequent and reliable public transit. This, Toronto and most other Canadian cities currently do not have. Case in point: the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) 512 St. Clair streetcar (which stops at Earlscourt). An east-west route that operates almost exclusively within a dedicated streetcar right-of-way, the 512 streetcar was controversial from the moment it was conceived. Legend has it construction began around 72 A.D. and was completed at some point in the early 21st century.

It ran for a little over a decade but is currently not in service because of “streetcar overhead power upgrades.” Its dedicated right-of-way sits empty and the curbside is occupied by street parking. Buses now share the single lane available with cars. To say traffic crawls on St. Clair Avenue West would be an insult to caterpillars.

The TTC says the 512 streetcar route should be running by the end of the summer.

Right…

That leaves a lot of people driving cars. Guess what? Even electric vehicles must be parked. Here’s the thing about parking, no matter how much you have, it never seems to be enough. Parking, parking everywhere, but not a spot to take. It’s an ironic perception, given that a 2021 study by Canadian Energy Systems Analysis Research at the University of Calgary found that for every vehicle there are 3.2 to 4.4 parking spaces in Canada.

True, but they are all somewhere nobody wants to be. Parking where we want to be is scarce.

Stubbornly driving around in cars waiting for the apocalypse won’t make traffic any faster. I love driving. My great dream is that everyone but me stops driving and the city streets will be mine. I thought one good thing about the pandemic was the traffic. But even I know cars are a terrible way to get around a large city. I also know that those who scold everyone who drives must admit that eliminating parking and dropping bike lanes everywhere won’t fix things overnight.

Here’s my advice: Drivers, don’t worry about finding a parking spot here on Earth. You will find your reward in heaven. As Joe Hill wrote in his 1911 protest song “The Preacher and the Slave,” you will get your Pie in the Sky.

Long-haired city planners come out every night

Try to tell you what’s wrong and what’s right

But when asked about somewhere to park

They will answer in voices quite stark

You will park, bye and bye

In that glorious lot in the sky

Work and pay, commute all day

You can park in the sky when you die.