Whitby GO station patrons see no happy ending to parking nightmare

WHITBY -- After years of patrons butting heads over parking at Whitby GO station, officials are working to create a less hostile future for the popular site.

Capacity issues have long haunted the Brock Street station, but despite expansions and sharing of parking spaces with nearby sites like Iroquois Park Sports Centre (IPSC), the tug-of-war continues.

There are 2,458 spaces at the station, with an additional 900 to be added with the construction of a new three-level parking structure next year.

In the meantime, 200 spaces at IPSC have been designated for GO riders' vehicles, leaving 750 to serve the needs of the sports centre users. The leased space has resulted in a series of problems for visitors of the IPSC, ranging from long waits for parking to safety concerns.

GO Transit's nearly 20-year-old parking agreement with IPSC was established as an effective use of the town's resources and has undergone several provisions to accommodate patrons of both sites, said John Romano, the town's supervisor of facilities.

"The people using the GO are Whitby residents and we're trying to give them the space at a time when the (IPSC) is not being overly utilized," he said, adding that officials try to make the parking allowances work around each site's peak periods. "It's also great from an environmental standpoint so they're not driving to Toronto or wherever they're going."

But four years ago when GO transit was expanding the Whitby GO station by 825 new parking spaces, the town told residents like Sandy Newton that the more than 300-space lease agreement with IPSC would be eliminated so there would be no more GO parking there. Shortly after, the 200-space agreement was established.

Now with the future development of the parking structure at Whitby GO, officials are once again saying the shared parking agreement with IPSC will be eliminated.

As a frequent user of the IPSC during the winter with six children involved in recreational sports at the facility, Ms. Newton said she's faced a huge burden from the sharing and is skeptical about whether parking at IPSC will ever stop.

"I think people will continue parking at Iroquois even when the new GO spaces are put in," she said, adding the location is more convenient to park in and is simply what people are used to. "The only difference will be that more people will take the train and it will be even busier."

GO rider Jamie Seens agreed the decision to build a parking structure is ideal for the short-term solution of accommodating more people riding the rails, but could exasperate the problem down the road.

"More needs to be done to solve the long-term problems that will come with adding even more cars that are trying to come in and out of the station," he said.

The overall increase in traffic flow is a product of the growth in the community and the popularity of the Whitby GO Station, said town facilities manager Greg Scott.

A ridership report released in May showed an average weekday ridership increase of 7.2 per cent, or 13,070 more daily riders across the GO system since 2007.

Through amendments of the shared parking agreement, Mr. Scott said staff continues to work toward addressing issues like further congestion, pedestrian safety and convenience for users of both sites.

In addition to working around prime use hours, there was also a move in July for parking on the north end of IPSC parking lot to the south end. This was done to alleviate problems with GO riders using Henry Street as a crosswalk between the two locations.

IPSC and GO user Tanya Miller said pedestrians were dangerously crossing the street at random spots, only adding to the frustration of drivers entering or exiting either location.

"It's very chaotic," she said. "The people who take the GO train don't take into consideration anyone coming out of Iroquois Park and they just walk wherever they want."

The town is in the process of completing a pedestrian study at the location and also awaiting a traffic study by GO that will address any anticipated problems for when the new parking garage goes in, said Amanda Spencer, traffic engineer for the region.

"Until we get (the study results), we won't know what kind of projected traffic to expect and decide what remedial measures need to be taken," she said. "Parking and pedestrian issues are very serious to us and we will look at dealing with the congestion in the area when the time comes."