Seniors in public housing building in Halifax 'devastated' to lose accessible parking

Darrell Aulenback is worried that losing the parking garage in his building will have a ripple effect on his life.

He has a spinal injury and other health problems that make completing many daily tasks difficult, even with easy access to a vehicle. 

He is one of 18 residents of the Vimy Arms apartment building on Gottingen Street in Halifax who will lose access to their parking spots at the end of this month.

In August, a bailiff handed the residents letters that said the parking garage would be closing and they would need to find somewhere else for their vehicles. 

Aulenback, 63, has been living in the apartments for seven years. He said many of the residents are elderly or disabled and have low incomes.

He said he speaks for many of the residents who don't want to speak out. 

"I'm one of the youngest ones, the rest of them have been here for 15, 25 years, some 30 years," Aulenback said. "So this 30-day eviction of our parkade is a big deal. They're losing their freedom."

For now, residents can take the elevator from their apartment straight to the underground garage, making it accessible for people with physical disabilities or mobility concerns.

The residents are being asked to sign new leases that remove mention of the word parking, and are worried they will never regain access to their accessible parking.

Vimy Arms is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Regional Housing Authority, run by Housing Nova Scotia. 

An assessment of the parking garage was completed by BMR Structural Engineering in May. In a letter provided to residents, the engineering firm states that a number of areas in the parkade need repair. 

"Since the nature of the degradation is largely related to chlorides, we do not recommend allowing any more winters to further degrade the parkade," the letter said. "It is in our opinion that the repairs should be completed as one tender package before December 2022."

A letter to residents from the housing authority stated: "We do not see the completion of the parkade repairs being completed in the foreseeable future as currently there is no timetable for that."

The housing authority declined an interview request. In a statement, it said work will begin once a tender is awarded.

"While not ideal, we are providing each affected tenant with enough funds to find temporary parking nearby," said  Municipal Affairs and Housing spokesperson Krista Higdon.

"We are also continuing to work with HRM and nearby businesses to find closer parking, if possible. Once the repairs are finished and the parking garage is safe, tenants will get their parking spot back."

Higdon said residents will pay the same rate they pay now when they regain their parking.

Residents pay $40 a month to park in the building's underground garage. Starting next month, they will be compensated $150 monthly to offset parking costs elsewhere, until their current lease expires.

When the residents received their notice to vacate the parkade, a note was attached with alternatives, one of which is a kilometre away.

The monthly parking costs range from $145 plus tax, to $223.25 plus tax.

"I can't afford it," Aulenback said. He said he is on CPP disability and can barely afford his rent, let alone a higher parking rate.

Hearing scheduled

Aulenback isn't sure where he will park from now on, but he is asking for some concessions from the housing authority.

He wants the parking garage to remain open until Dec. 1 to give him and others more time to find accessible parking. He also wants an extension of the monthly rental rebate until their parking is restored.

He has a residential tenancies hearing scheduled for October to try to come to an agreement. 

Aulenback said losing access to parking might be a minor inconvenience for some, but it's a different story for seniors and people with medical conditions or disabilities.

"I was devastated, [it] made me sick to my stomach that I was going to lose my parking spot that I've had for seven years," he said.

"I have a lot of medical problems right now. So I need to get to the clinic, I need to get to the doctors, I need to go pick up prescriptions. I have blood work I do every week.... You can't do that if you haven't got a car handy."

Timothy Hosterman is a resident of the building who uses a walker to get around. He said the winter months will be dangerous without his car nearby.

He said he is at risk of falling on icy sidewalks.

"I can't really be going anywhere with my walker because, you know, ice and stuff like that, I wouldn't be able to take that chance," Hosterman said. "The sidewalks are sometimes two or three days before they get those done."