Parking lot at old Prince Edward Home worries Charlottetown mayor
City wants site of old Prince Edward Home returned to green space
The mayor of Charlottetown is worried about the creation of parking spaces on part of the property that once housed the old Prince Edward Home.
The nursing home has now been demolished and the city wants the property, which is next to Victoria Park, to become green space.
However, the province owns the land.
Mayor Philip Brown says just before Christmas he started getting calls from residents worried about asphalt millings that had been laid on one part of the site, near a government building.
"It's a creeping parking lot, a creeping expansion of the parking lot," Brown said.
Keep it green
Brown said while he campaigned during the last municipal election, he heard residents wanted the area returned to green space and he is concerned that the creation of one section of parking spaces will continue to grow.
He also said the issue came up during the provincial campaign in April.
"I know in the last provincial election there were lots of residents that were saying keep it as a green space," Brown said.
Brown said he wants to work with the province, and hopes to meet as soon as possible with provincial officials to voice his concerns.
"It's not our property, but we are trying to work with the province," Brown said.
Minister of Infrastructure Steven Myers said the plan is still to return the site to green space.
If they want to put a housing plan forward for that piece of land I'll sit down and listen to it.— Minister of Infrastructure Steven Myers
"We had 40 spots behind the old hospital that we used to use to park government vehicles in, like at the end of the day kind of thing," he said.
"And we're effectively replacing those 40 spots because we need them."
The parking lot will be on the "footprint" of the Aubin Arsenault Building, where there is a parking lot already, Myers said.
"We are just kind of expanding on to that," he said.
"But other than that there's no real direct plan for that piece of land besides returning it to green space, but we're open to any option," he said.
Myers said he is open to discussion with the city and mayor on future use for the property.
"If he has use for that land he would like to talk about, if they want to put a housing plan forward for that piece of land, I'll sit down and listen to it," Myers said.
"If they want to put a garden in that piece of property I will sit down and listen to it."
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With files from Angela Walker