STONEY CREEK PETITION – PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND SIGN BELOW.
We the undersigned oppose the removal of important and well utilized community parking in Stoney Creek. We are concerned about the lack of consultation, the selection process, and most importantly, the community harm that this hasty decision will create.
To be clear, we are not opposed to meeting the needs of the housing crisis, but rather, we are concerned that the Stoney Creek sites have been selected in haste without proper consideration and planning and are inappropriate.
Most importantly, the City has mistakenly declared this well used community parking area as “under-utilized” while providing no proof or studies to substantiate this claim. Oddly, the City has been in recent consultations with the local B.I.A. to rebuild, regrade, and repave this same site. Surely the City would not waste money to do this on an “under-utilized” site.
Contrary to the City’s claim, this area is incredibly busy, providing needed use for the entire community. It is situated in the centre of the village’s active business district, full of existing residents and community services. This area is a busy, important, and useful part of our community.
Contrary to the City’s claim that this area is “under-utilized,” this busy community area is utilized by:
• Parking pass holders for residents living in large, existing, adjacent, high-density apartments.
• Seniors and the physically challenged to provide access to the Doctors’ offices, Laboratory services, and medical services in busy Medical offices  adjacent to this site.
• Numerous existing local small businesses rely on this parking for customers and employees.
• Numerous affordable rental units that already exist in the Village rely on this, the only parking available to them, helping maintain their affordability.
• Tourists use this parking to access local shopping and dining in the Village and historic sites.
• This space accommodates large tour buses and school bus parking visits.
• Community parking access point for local walking, trails, biking trails, and historic sites.
• Multiple existing community festivals, events, local Farmers' Market, the Legion Hall, community organizations, Churches, and the newly established, massive “Boots in the Creek” festival, utilize this space for visitors, performers, musicians, and artisans.
• Moreover, this area will be even busier as it will provide community and regional access to the newly approved Public Park the City is currently building directly across the road.
Furthermore, we are concerned that no information/studies have been provided showing the non-transparent process and criteria used to select Stoney Creek sites as being better suited that all other possible sites in the entire City of Hamilton.
Furthermore, unlike other possible sites, the Stoney Creek site is nowhere near the LRT , where development is supposed to be prioritized. Distance from the LRT decreases affordability and increases reliance on more automobiles and more parking demand.
Furthermore, if approved, the City will be destroying “Veterans' Lane”, a laneway named by the community in honour of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. This is disturbing.