The parking lot on the west side of Vanier Collegiate will soon be expanded and paved, giving students more parking space while reducing the amount of dust produced.
Located within 324 MacDonald Street, the parcel of land covers the student parking lot and a portion of the athletic field. The school intends to resurface and expand the lot to the undeveloped northern portion of the property. The parking lot would also be reconfigured to allow pedestrian access along Fourth Avenue Northwest, at the request of the municipality’s parks and recreation department.
The property is zoned as floodway, which prohibits any buildings from being constructed under provincial regulations. However, the municipality has the discretion to allow development, including parking lots.
The provincial government owns this property since it is Crown land.
During its April 8 regular meeting, city council unanimously approved a motion to allow Holy Trinity Catholic School Division to renovate the parking lot.
The division would have to provide a drainage design that satisfies the municipality’s engineering department; accept responsibility for maintenance; and accept responsibility for any damage that might occur during a flood.
A report from the department of planning and development service indicates the department is satisfied that the proposed changes would not adversely affect efficiency or drainage. Other city departments have not raised any concerns with this either.
While there are existing fences around the parking lot, the department is encouraging the school division to replace the fences with a barrier that is less likely to catch debris during a flood. Holy Trinity has hired a geotechnical and civil engineer to prepare drainage plans for the site.
Holy Trinity is paying all of the maintenance costs for this development.
