Ready for the OMB

The GDNA has "party" status at a 2-week OMB hearing starting May 29, contesting a condo development at 452 Richmond West, on the basis that the proposal does not make any allowance for bike lane activity at its front door.  

On such a small mid-block site, with no lay-by, with no parking across the busy and fast-paced street and with Rush Lane (Graffiti Alley) at the rear of the building, the GDNA asks the questions:
     - Where are taxis, Uber vehicles, Wheel-Trans and personal friends supposed to pick up or drop off passengers? 
     - Where do vehicles servicing today’s purchasing practices (Canada Post, UPS, pizza delivery, Grocery Gateway, etc.), fuelled by the growing trend towards online shopping, stop for the 5 to 10 minutes it takes to complete a delivery? 
     - Where do trade (Bell Canada, HVAC providers, elevator maintenance) vehicles park while they take minutes if not hours to provide service to a building? 

A building developed before the bike lanes were implemented can be forgiven for complaining that, because of the new bike lanes, Wheel-Trans carriers cannot access their site, that stopped vehicles blocking traffic lanes are causing horn honking and traffic jams, and that residents risk life and limb entering or exiting their taxis. 

But why should investors who build new buildings on bike lanes perpetuate these negative conditions? The Association’s position is that interactions between a new building and the vehicles that service it should not be externalized to the public realm, but should be internalized to the building site itself.