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Closing of Firefighters' Park lot to public parking causing frustration: coach

The parking lot will be off limits to the public until July, as crews build a structure to house Oak Bay Fire Department’s new $2-million ladder truck.
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Barricades block the parking lot at Firefighters’ Park in Oak Bay. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST

Oak Bay is advising users of Firefighters’ Park to carpool or drop off people off there whenever possible, with the parking lot off limits to the public until July as crews build a structure to house the fire department’s new $2-million ladder truck.

Owen Stacey, who coaches a baseball team that uses the park, said there needs to be more signage to let people know what’s happening with the lot.

He said that once the structure is finished, a large portion of the lot will be gone. “I’m frustrated, along with a lot of parents.”

Stacey said he has seen people circling the park area hoping to get lucky and find a parking spot.

The structure is being built for the ladder truck — arriving in mid-June — because it’s too big for the municipality’s aging firehall, which was built in 1938 and had two bays added in the 1960s.

A feasibility study for a replacement firehall is in the works, said Oak Bay Fire Chief Frank Macdonald, noting the size of the new truck reflects current specifications for most fire-vehicle manufacturers in North America.

Oak Bay Coun. Hazel Braithwaite said the ladder truck was expected to arrive earlier in the year, before peak activity at the park began, but was delayed.

The 1.3-hectare park contains baseball diamonds used by Carnarvon Baseball and a children’s play area, with an adjacent Scout/Girl Guide hall.

The fire department and police department, also located nearby, will continue to use the parking lot while construction is underway.

Temporary loading zones have been established on Lulie Street and Monteith Street, while residential-parking zones will not be enforced for now to allow street parking on St. Ann Street, Monterey Avenue and Cranmore Road.

Parking is also available at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre on Bee Street, which is a short walk away via the path along Bowker Creek, the district said.

Once the structure is finished, the parking lot will be reconfigured and will include dedicated public parking spaces, it said.

Braithwaite said the park’s user groups have been contacted.

“We’re also notifying all the residents in the area with ­information put in their mailboxes to let them know what’s happening.”

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