By Pepper Parr
May 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
What does a train wreck waiting to happen look like?
The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) is currently hearing from expert witnesses and the lawyers representing the Pearle Hotel and Spa and the owners of the Waterfront Hotel.
Their interests all converge on that portion of Elizabeth Street that runs south from Lakeshore Road.
The eastern boundary of the proposed development will be on the right hand side where there will be the three traffic entrances and one for pedestrians to walk into the hotel part of the development.The southern boundary will be about where the pickup truck is parked.
The photograph above is the field, as it were, that these interests are going to be presented to a single OLT Member.
On the left hand side you have the Pearle Hotel which is part of the Bridgewater development that consists of two condo towers, one 22 storeys and the other seven stories and the hotel.
Parking for all four parts of the development is through the one garage entrance at the very south end of Elizabeth Street. When we say parking we include the garbage trucks, the moving trucks and the delivery trucks that serve the needs of the hotel.
There is a very small layby for people that are registering as guests. Valets will take their cars to the parking location.
Layby parking outside the Pearle Hotel
There is layby is very limited.
Traffic congestion around the hotel is already a problem, manageable bu a problem nevertheless. You expect this kind of thing in Manhattan – but this is Burlington.
The OLT hearing is about what is going to be built on the other side of the street where the entrance to the hotel will be located.
There will be two lanes to the underground parking space for the hotel guests and the residents of the two tower that are proposed. One tower is to be 36 storeys and the other 31 storeys.
There will be 500 + residential units and some office space in those two towers.
The two towers will soar to 36 and 31 storeys. The hotel will be at the bottom of the right hand tower.
There is also an entrance for the garbage trucks and the big moving trucks. During the OLT hearing we learned that the garbage trucks might have to back out of the building on to Elizabeth Street.
The City has decided that there will not be any traffic going into the development off Lakeshore Road.
Picture all that taking place on the Elizabeth Street shown above.
Add to that those occasions when snow or freezing rain covers the streets.
If the development is approve by the single OLT Member that is hearing the appeal this is what the city could be looking at.
The hearings are expected to end on the 17th of May with a decision at least four months away.
This entire proposal is beyond ridiculous to the point of being comical. I don’t know what rarified environment these developers are living on but it sure isn’t planet earth!
That said, I have a hard time imagining that a hotel of this magnitude will be able to generate sufficient tourist and convention volume to be financially viable. Seriously, why come to Burlington when you can stay in Toronto or Niagara? The pier? Laughable. Shopping in the handful of stores that remain in downtown Burlington? Hardly. Theatre? There’s better selection in Toronto and Fallsview. Cuisine? Again, better selection and options elsewhere.
I suppose the next thing the developer will ask for is a casino. At least that way they can bus the old folks in and save taking up the handful of parking spots that remain.
It’s not difficult to understand, Stephen. However they may want to disguise it or not, it’s greed. Sadly, their god is their stomach.
It’s actually worse than you’ve reported, Pepper. There is in fact no underground parking for the 122 suite hotel or offices or retail stores in this proposed application. None! There are 13 proposed layby spots on Lakeshore & Elizabeth Street. Imagine all those cars/ service vehicles looking for a place to drop off/ pick up or simply park. And the left turning lane that exists now on Elizabeth for vehicles wanting to go west on Lakeshore is to be eliminated. “No problem” says Vrancor’s expert witness on transportation. Absurd.
One thing that struck me today, was with all the concern about traffic and parking shortages, I have not heard a word about electric cars, and how they add an entirely different different twist to these issues.
Who is responsible for providing the charging equipment in the underground parking, for possibly 100 cars, all in one place, and all overnight? How are these EVs controlled in their numbers owned by tenants? What if many many want to buy when they are already tenants? How much does it cost to install an entire condominium satisfactorily – wouldn’t you want to own your own?
Questions abound, but I have not heard a word about it by so-called experts who are supposed to know everything. It may be that the long time these developments take and the more there are due to the Provincial dictatorship driving the numbers ever upward, it might highly burden or sink someone financially, or in development business, or the province, or municipality.
It may turn out not to be in so great for the Planning and financial Interest of the province as it is so touted by the consultants for the developers. I would like to see at least some rational thinking and data on this.
This seems an obvious problem issue for these big build tall buildings, with all these vehicles in one place needing a recharge overnight, or during a narrow window then.
Is there any thinking out there on this unintended consequence?
More questions go on.
We assume there was no mention of EV charging requirements because they are included in the standard building code for high-rise condominiums.
I forgot an important matter regarding electric car hazards parked in 3 to 5 floor or deeper underground parking spaces, especially designed to be economically small – FIRE. they also might need to be purchased, which can be expensive – $50K?
An electric car fire that is floors underground, would be, I think, much larger, toxic, and multiple hazardous substance/smoke emitting enhanced by limited air.
Out of control lithium batteries burning deep underground starved for air would be a dangerous fire fighter hazard, difficult to get to, control, and extinguish. What about smoke plumes spreading up many floors at night when charging ignition causes are most likely to happen?
I won’t go, on as we all know something about fire and can imagine and research about electric car fires, their incidence and severity and may find out about underground parking fires – anticipation, prevention, frequency, location, hazard and risk, modes of extinguishing, and so on. Ask a Tesla dealer, the Fire Department professionals, or Google.
I think it obvious that these fire situations are especially tricky situations and need to be considered as part of the development application assessment process – this question should be put to the Fire Dept. for their sign-off.
This may already be done, and if it is, it should be acknowledged – this EV car issue is growing and the tall buildings and parking along with it, and unless the risk is zero will be growing along with it..
My trouble is, that as I said above, I have not heard a word from the developers about this aspect of the parking problem.
Today, I found that Joan Little of the Spec wrote a column the other day on the tall building fire risk, my wife read it, told me, and I think seeded my interest with all the talk at the OLT about cars, traffic, parking, and parking ratios in tall buildings. I just want to point people to her research and views because of this.
Why didn’t,the city think of this before approving all this property downtown for high rise development?
The people who bought this land years ago did so knowing that they could build high rise there!
You don’t “know” you can build anything until you have a complete application submitted to City, approved by Staff on all counts, then accepted by Council, and anyone else who can appeal the application within the time limit to said appeals. This was determined to mean that the applications are “made”.
The recent legal action between the City, Vranko the developer, and the Province was decided because the Court, Province and City, found that the Vranko application was not “made” by the required deadline. So he could not just apply for whatever he wanted, or thought he had.
You can’t just wait around forever. Policies at any level change, so what rights you once thought you had, you might lose, or you could gain.
Nothing is forever in that world.