Fire station relocation sparks parking concerns in downtown Sydney

Some business owners in downtown Sydney are upset after Cape Breton Regional Municipality chose the location for a new fire station.

Council voted on Tuesday to accept a staff recommendation to move the fire station from the Esplanade to a municipally owned parking lot at the corner of George and Pitt streets.

The fire station on the Esplanade has to move to make way for the Nova Scotia Community College, which is moving its Marconi campus to the downtown waterfront.

Before voting to approve the move, Coun. Amanda McDougall asked staff why local businesses were not consulted.

She pointed out that earlier on Tuesday, council and staff had held a workshop on the need for public participation that was sparked, in part, by a letter from the neighbouring Highland Arts Theatre after it found out about the proposed fire station location.

"Is that not part of the process here?" McDougall asked. "Do we just approve land and we don't take into consideration the area?"

Public outcry

There was a public outcry and opposition from some businesses, such as the theatre, when word leaked out in December that the parking lot might be the site of a new fire station.

Some were upset at the loss of parking, while others worried about the sound of sirens interrupting productions.

Chief administrative officer Marie Walsh said consultation wasn't considered for the new fire station because staff didn't think it was necessary.

"It's not like it's a community centre or a typical civic building," she said. "It's a safety-related station that we relied on expert opinion from a report that the [firefighters]union put forward.

"We really couldn't rely on the public to site an emergency services building. That would be our responsibility."

Walsh said siting a new fire station included criteria such as response times, accessibility and others.

CBRM currently leases the site to the Sydney Downtown Development Association, which uses parking fees to fund downtown development activities.

Mayor Cecil Clarke said staff have been working with the association to find alternate parking that will help local businesses and provide revenue for downtown development.

Walsh said it's too soon to provide details, but the province is providing CBRM with the replacement cost of the fire station and property on the Esplanade.

She said since CBRM already owns the parking lot at Pitt and George street, some money will be available to buy or lease parking space elsewhere.

"We are definitely working hard to find a solution to the parking area that we are going to be using up," she said.

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