Priority: Parking Lots

In Toronto there is a big push on by municipal government to eliminate cars in the downtown core.  The investment in bike lanes and public transit will theoretically eliminate the need for so many cars to travel downtown.

In Muskoka that concept is laughable.  Muskoka's primary public transit system is either your thumb or your feet.  Hence everyone wants a car.  Those who can afford it drive trucks...big, beautiful, powerful, shiny, expensive trucks.  Owning a tractor or a bobcat or a trailer is commonplace.  Some even have multiple pieces of heavy equipment to plow snow and move dirt around.  One of my school chums has purchased a bunch of mighty machines to build roads and houses on his property.  My children have been invited to visit this summer and they cannot wait to drive the tractors.

The implication is that if you own or manage a building in Muskoka, the more parking the better.  Our tenants love the abundance of parking we provide.  One medium sized company can have ten spots.  A small business can have two or three spots.  And although getting from your car to the building sometimes requires walking in inclement weather, our tenants view that as a small price to pay for the ample parking for staff and customers.

Parking lots require maintenance and investment year round.  Snow plowing costs are significant and snow plow operators must expect to work in the middle of the night on multiple nights throughout the winter and, given this week's weather, sometimes well into the spring season.  Every spring and fall two large loads of gravel are needed to be spread out by a front end loader to smooth out the pot holes for the sections of the lot that are not paved.  For the paved sections, hot asphalt is required to fill the pot holes and smooth out bumps.  And capital must be set aside to pave or re-pave sections of the lot each year.  Large pot holes are not uncommon between seasons.  As a result, Muskokans value vehicles with four wheel drive and good shocks.

Keeping our parking lot both functional and usable year round is a priority worth the investment.  Forget bike lanes.  Muskoka businesses value large, well maintained parking lots.