Dear editor:

My name is John Foreman and I live on Regent Street a few houses down from the Parliament Oak site.

Like my neighbours, I oppose the plan to build a large hotel in the centre of our historic residential community. However, despite abundant feedback and protests against this development, it appears that it cannot be stopped.

If it is destined to go forward, I would at least like to see some action taken to reduce the damage being done to our neighbourhood. I am proposing that the developer of the Parliament Oak site should carve off a small piece of the property to create a public parkette on the edge of the property.

Specifically, I would like to suggest moving the wall that is planned on the Regent Street side of the property back about 25 feet and dedicating the land on the street side of the wall as a parkette (Parliament Oak Parkette?).

By my rough calculation, the proposed parkette would require a donation of less than 6 per cent of the total Parliament Oak lot.

I make this suggestion because I am concerned that placing the planned 450-foot-long wall directly beside the sidewalk on the Regent Street side, less than 10 feet from the road, will make for a very bleak and imposing streetscape.

A public parkette would make for a much more attractive avenue, especially with the addition of some park benches and perhaps flower gardens.  

This parkette would also provide a resource for the neighbourhood and a much more pleasing experience for visitors to our town who are walking or driving along Regent Street.

In addition, this would make an excellent location for displaying the historic plaques from the old Parliament Oak School. Instead of an eyesore, this parkette would be an asset to the community.

I have made this suggestion to council, to the lord mayor specifically and the town’s planning department.

My suggestion has been forwarded by the town to the developer and I have also sent a letter directly to the developer’s agent, but have received no reply or acknowledgement from them.

I would like to ask the developer again to consider my proposal. I believe that creating a public parkette would be a move to beautify the streetscape, provide an asset to the neighbourhood and would be a meaningful gesture recognizing the concerns of the residents impacted by the Parliament Oak Hotel development.

I hope someone is listening.

John Foreman
NOTL