Dear editor:
It is easy to look at the original houses and cottages built in our neighbourhoods and see why trees and buildings could coexist.
Heritage structures have shallow cellars and crawlspaces beneath the ground floor and, when there were few basements, the water table in Niagara-on-the-Lake was always close to the surface.
This created the charming and rare situation of an established residential and urban area built within a spectacular and mature forest.
Today, we take for granted that every building has a full basement. Our contemporary “dry” basement structures require constant mechanical pumping to lower the water table surrounding the building.
Rain, which replenishes the water table, is diverted away, and the surrounding groundwater is pumped into storm sewers, until the ground is dry to the depth of the basement.
The impact of this is dramatic, long-lasting and negative — even on a small scale.
We are now witnessing the construction of a deep and enormous underground parking garage at the Parliament Oaklands, in the middle of the old town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. This may be a hole we will not be able to climb out of.
Excavation and compaction, and the required lowering of the water table on such a vast scale, will guarantee the eventual death of most, if not all the existing century trees on the Parliament Oak block and predictably and negatively impact trees on surrounding properties.
Now it’s too late. Tall trees will not grow here again.
Sadly, it’s time to say goodbye to these irreplaceable old oaks, maples, sycamores and lindens that protected us, inspired us and helped make Niagara-on-the-Lake so pretty, special, unique and worthy of preservation.
Architects, planners, engineers, landscape and heritage architects — all professionals in their respective fields are responsible for the design of this hotel and the underground parking garage.
Our town staff, also authorities in their respective professions, as well as our elected officials, examined the proposal to build this hotel and underground parking garage and approved it.
Victor Tarnoy
NOTL
