BY BILL BRADLEY
Citizens who have dealt with a parking nightmare at the Howard Armstrong Recreational Centre in Hanmer in recent months will soon have a lot more space to put their cars.
City council decided Wednesday night to make an unbudgeted expenditure of $112,000 to immediately build another 150 parking spots on city lands adjacent to the recreation complex.
Although the expense was not included in the city's 2008-2009 budget, Ward 6. Coun. Andre Rivest, who brought forward the motion, was able to convince other councillors that extra parking was sorely needed.
Soccer has become so popular at the Howard Armstrong Recreational Centre that there are far more cars than can be safely handled by the existing parking lots, said
Richard Langlois, vice-president of the Valley East Soccer Club.
“Normally there are 24 games scheduled from 6 pm Sundays through Thursdays. That means we have 370 kids coming to the field and then another 370 coming to play later. If you add one or two parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles you are looking at a minimum of 1,000 cars there during the transition,” said Langlois.
The centre was cramped even before a field expansion got underway a few years ago, he said.
“It is a safety issue. I am glad council carried the motion. This expenditure is a lot cheaper than someone getting hurt or even killed,” he said.
“The new 150 space parking lot will take cars away from the fire hydrants, off the front lawns and allow traffic flow. Right now everybody parks wherever they can,” he said.
Ward 5 Coun. Ron Dupuis supported the motion.
“My grandson plays soccer there. This is a disaster waiting to happen. I see four year old children darting between cars,” said Dupuis. “We had a parking problem there before the new fields were built."
A number of council members, such as Ward 2 Coun. Jacques Barbeau, were initially hesitant because the expense was not included in the budget.
In the end, Barbeau said he was won over by the combination of the arguments and passion of Rivest and Dupuis.
