It’s not too late to speak up for greenspace at Robert Bateman site

April 21, 2024

Site of the future Robert Bateman Community Centre near Appleby Line and New St. Source: Google Earth, data 9-24-2014

The City of Burlington recently published an online engagement survey for Burlingtonians to provide input on how to use the greenspace at Robert Bateman Community Centre. According to the city, the former Robert Bateman High School building and greenspace was purchased “with sustainability and community-building in mind,” and the proposed new plan would “align with the City’s objective of being net-zero carbon by 2040.” However, Council’s insistence on paving the greenspace for a parking lot shows otherwise.

When the renovation is complete, the building will house a Brock University satellite campus, a Burlington Public Library branch and offices for the Halton District School Board, Tech Place and City of Burlington.

We continue to disagree with Council’s decision to replace the running track with a parking lot. And we urge Council to examine its public engagement process after the dust from this debacle has finally settled.

The public consultation held on April 17 began with the facilitator stating that parking was “off-scope” and could not be discussed.

It also appears that Burlington Transit submitted a plan to increase the number of Brock students and community centre users who take transit instead of driving, reducing the need for more parking. It would appear that these ideas were rejected out of hand at least partly because of an archaic city bylaw that requires a minimum number of parking spaces per building.

The redevelopment of the greenspace and building of a new community centre offers an opportunity for the City of Burlington to develop a transit-oriented model, more in line with the goals outlined in the Official Plan and Integrated Mobility Plan, of increasing the use of transit and active transportation. Building parking lots is short-sighted and counterproductive to the city’s sustainability goals, and will be detrimental to Burlington residents in the long-term.

While Phase 1 of the parking lot construction is moving forward with 94 spaces, Council has not yet confirmed the number of spaces for Phase 2. Phase 2 could involve an additional 100 parking spaces, however the decision will be made once uses of the building are finalized and data on actual parking demand is available.

Ways to get involved

BFAST encourages all Burlington residents to speak up for better transit by:

• Completing the online engagement survey before it closes at the end of April to oppose additional parking spaces and share your ideas for greenspace use
• Choosing to use transit when possible, especially when visiting the site of the new community centre and greenspace

You can read BFAST’s previous statement on the parking lot decision BFAST position.