Empty park and ride dubbed useless $8M 'cement playground'

A multimillion-dollarpark and ridein east Ottawathat OC Transpoadvertisedas "perfectfor customers" insouth Orlanshas largely sat empty since openingthree years ago.

Residents nearby say it's a waste of their tax dollars and are still scratching their heads as to why it's even there.

"We all feel the same. It's not being used. It's a waste,"said resident Rylee Batista.

The Chapel Hill South Park & Ride sits atNavan Road and Brian CoburnBoulevard a major artery in south Orlans. It opened on Oct. 27, 2019, andcost the city about $8.2 million.

The lot has 263 free parking spaces and wasslated to expand to427, according to OC Transpo's website.

But the stop services only two regular bus routes the 32 and 34 which run about every 25 minutes most of the day and according to OC Transpo, two other buses run on weekday mornings to high schools nearby.

An OC Transpoonline pamphlet about the park and ride touts it as "perfect for customers travelling from south Orlansand nearby communities," and tells customers to "park your car and let OC Transpo take you the rest of the way 35 minutes to downtown!"

But that's far from reality.

According to Google Map's transit planner, it takes about anhour to travel via transit from the park and ride to CBC Ottawa's downtown office during peak morning rush hour.Driving to the park and ride from a random residential address in the nearbyAvalon neighbourhood, the total commute is about an hour and 15 minutes.

But it takes about 53 minutes from that same address directly to CBC Ottawa by transit.

CBC hasvisited the park and ride three times between September and October for two-hour periods, twice during rush hour. At most, it observed five cars parked there, and sometimes none.

On each occasion,CBC observed one transit rider getting off the bus and driving away in their car; several non-transit users like a skateboarder and dog walkers parked there for recreational purposes.

But the city maintains the location "is strategic."

Stanimir Cvetanov runs by the park and ride almost daily. The resident of Chapel Hill Southsaid he was so baffled by the emptiness, he wrote a one-star Google review.

"Textbook example of wasting tax payers' money. Barely anyone used it even before the pandemic," his review reads.

Cvetanov told CBC that as a transit rider pre-COVID, he was "initially excited" for the park and ridethinking more express buses would run from it.

That enthusiasm was short-lived.

"That got me upset, like, you built something so huge for just two bus lines?" said Cvetanov.

Concerns about racing, clearing forest

Batista, president of the Chapel Hill South Community Association, said the lot has been mainly used as an "$8 million cementplayground" during in the pandemic.

"We've come here with our Rollerblades to play hockey," she said.

Batista has seen kids on bikes, motorized toy cars and skateboarders use the space.

WATCH | 'No reason' anyone in Chapel Hill would use park and ride, says association:

Resident says Orlans park and ride sits mostly empty as bus routes remain limited

2 years ago

Duration 1:18

Rylee Batista, president of the Chapel Hill South Community Association, says its frustrating that there havent been more bus routes added to connect the Chapel Hill South Park and Ride with the LRT.

At night, though, itwas used as a car drifting and racing spot, so barricades were put in to try to prevent that, she said.

"You can hear them spinning out or drifting," recalled Batista, pointing to the fencing."That's what this has doneit has cut down that noise."

The park and ride also replaced a forest, she said, causing some residents to worry about the impact it might have on the green space and ravine nearby.

Batista said she's spoken to city councillors about its future and other issues with transportation in south Orlans.

"We're not well serviced," she said. "But where's the next step? Where's Plan B? There doesn't seem to be [one]."

'Cart before the horse' situation: resident

Heather Buchanan, a resident of the nearby Bradley Estates neighbourhood, calls the park and ride a "glorified transit stop."

Buchanan sits on the development committee for her community association and explained that the lot was built in anticipation of a future Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor bus-only roadways in the area, a project which has not materialized since the 1990s.

Most recently this March after years of studies, planningand consultations, city council voted to move ahead with one of thehandful of short-listed options Option 7 to extend Brian Coburn Boulevard, and to create a Cumberland Transitwaythrough the Greenbelt which wouldlink the park and ride to Blair Road.

But the city hasn't set aside money for its $300-million projected costand it's running into issues with the National Capital Commission,whichowns the Greenbelt but refuses to release it. Some documents forecast it may not happen until well past 2030.

"We were all quite enraged that we were going to have this 'cart before the horse' parking lot," she said. "This is all predicated on a BRT that does not exist."

WATCH | Buchanan explains why the park and ride doesn't make sense right now:

Underused Orlans park and ride a case of putting the cart before the horse, resident says

2 years ago

Duration 1:25

Resident Heather Buchanan says the Chapel Hill South Park and Ride was meant to serve a bus rapid transit system that doesnt currently exist.

If the city wants south Orlansresidents to use the park and ride now, she said it needs to first improve the roads that get them there.

Buchanan said the moneywould have been better spent building a larger park and ride at the Blair LRT station, which currently has only 21 spaces for permit holders.

"That park and ride is basically a white elephant," said Rachelle Lecours, president of the Greater Avalon Community Association, which represents communities east of the lot.

"People are upset because that money could have gone to provide better busservice."

• Do you have a story to share from Orlans? Email priscilla.hwang@cbc.ca

Lecourssaidthe two buses that run through it do "milk runs" in nearby communities, so it's easier for residents to hop on the bus near their homes anyway.

As an interim solution while waiting for the future BRT, she suggestsimplementing express buses taking people directly from the park and ride to downtown or LRT stations either Blair or Cyrvillestation, which is not as busy.

City says location 'strategic'

CBC asked the city for an interview with OC Transpo, but it said no one is available.

Instead, it provided an emailed statement from its transportation planning director who said the location "is strategic," based on the future BRTand population growth in southeastOrlans.

Vivi Chi wrote the rapid transitproject is targeted to open post 2031.

Meanwhile, a statement attributed to Pat Scrimgeour, director of customer systems and planning,blames the pandemic, citingusage"has still not yet reached levels seen before the pandemic." Several residents have told CBCthe park and ride was underutilized in the five months it was open prior to the pandemic.

"Staff will continue to monitor usage, collect feedback, and make adjustments," Scrimgeour wrote.

He said the city doesn't keep track of how much it spends on maintenance of that park and ride.