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The Department of National Defence (DND) has set up overflow parking several kilometres away from its west Ottawa headquarters as it tries to improve a potentially worsening parking squeeze for employees.
Workers on Moodie Drive have complained it’s hard to get one of the approximately 5,000 parking spaces available for the more than 10,000 staff, and that has led some to park illegally.
Staff also bemoan a lack of transit and pathway options.
DND said this week that it has made some temporary spaces available at its Connaught Range, about a seven-kilometre drive to the west, with shuttle buses carrying employees back and forth.
Shawn King, a regional vice-president with the Union of National Defence Employees, said the solution is time-consuming for members.
In an email, Theresa Kavanagh, the area’s city councillor, said she had also heard DND is considering using a nearby sports field for temporary parking.
According to a recap of a meeting between DND, Kavanagh, city manager Wendy Stephanson and OC Transpo GM Rick Leary, the idea of using the sports fields arose but no commitment has been made.
WATCH | A snapshot of the problem earlier this month:
Unpacking the problem at DND’s Carling campus parking lot
Workers at the Department of National Defence in Ottawa’s west end say the lack of parking there has become a big problem, one that needs to be solved before employees start spending at least four days a week in the office come July. The CBC’s Joseph Tunney reports.
DND has also proposed adding express buses and increasing bus frequency during peak periods, and collaborating with the city and the National Capital Commission on pathways from the future Moodie LRT station.
The idea of a parking garage also arose, though there would be cost concerns.
Kavanagh suggested the federal government provide transit passes to DND employees, and demonstrate flexibility with return-to-office protocols.