RESTORE COOTES

Looking at McMaster University 's plan to build a $12-million dollar parking garage at the site of current Parking Lot K, west of Cootes Drive. The University Planning Committee minutes from March 18, 2020 cite the need to replace their 490-stall Ward Avenue parking lot by 2024. That's the only reason given. Let's do some math: $12 mil/490 spaces=$24,489.00 per stall, which is in line with rough pricing per stall in parking structures. In McMaster's 2011 Campus Master Plan (CMP’11), they identified lot K & 4 other campus sites for potential “Academic, research or residence *above parking structure* & Lot i as a “parking structure” site. Now it looks like Lot K loses the " Academic, research or residence" part and becomes just a "parking structure." But wait! The more recent Facility Services Capital Plan Update 2021/2022 has a $17-million price tag for the structure. That's almost a 42% increase on the March 2020 UPC’s $12 million. This p...

Monday, January 20, 2020 Rethinking McMaster's West Campus Floodplain and Simple I really hope that the vision for west campus does look to rehabilitate the floodplain under McMaster Parking Lot M. In these times of global climate emergency, what better contrast than cars parked on top a coldwater wetland. One is a source of our current predicament, and the other is a part of the solution to mitigate the issues we face. Meanwhile: Trail to Trespass McMaster still has to come to terms with the fact they won't allow people currently parking in the west campus to use the perfectly lovely remnant of the former Royal Botanical Gardens nature trails to access campus. It's very odd that it was easier to get hundreds of parking spaces removed to create the required 30-metre buffer to the coldwater creek there than it is to get McMaster to stop blocking access to the trail. I'm hoping to open (another) conversation with McMaster about this trail. In the mean...

What do all these people have in common? They've taken the guided tour of west campus with Restore Cootes! Be like them and come out Friday at 12:30 PM to tour the remnants of Coldspring Valley Nature Sanctuary, McMaster Parking Lot M depaved, Ancaster/Coldwater Creek, and other sites of historical and research interest. Register here:  http://bit.ly/waterweekwalk2017

We're heading back out to share the history of this former floodplain/nature sanctuary, and take a look at the rehabilitated future of this contested site in McMaster's west campus. Can we really depave Paradise? It's happening! Register on Eventbrite:  http://bit.ly/waterweekwalk2017  (by donation)

After I made the time-lapse video and linked to an earlier (prior to de-pave) video I found another way to show the changes visually. I didn't realize this was possible on Google Maps but I guess I wasn't paying attention: you can use street view to time travel a location back to see its changes over time ! This is useful for our purposes in Lot M/Coldspring Valley: In Google Maps there are 2007, 2011 and 2015 views of McMaster Parking Lot M that show the parking lot before and after the de-pave to create a naturalized buffer between the parking and Ancaster Creek. If you are curious about this here's what you need to know: How to view : Open your google maps app Locate the McMaster campus parking (Lot M) Select street view (drag human figure onto map to activate) Choose a perspective (see example below which gives a good vantage point from above) In the top left corner of the map there is a small timer icon: you can use this to change views to different y...

Why we have so much parking and what we need to do to reduce excessive parking areas from the author of the classic The High Cost of Free Parking . This short video explains the dilemma and offers simple solutions. Thanks to Alex and Reyna from Turtles of Cootes working group for the link!

Once McMaster agreed to depave a section of their parking lot in west campus lot "M" the space quickly transformed into an outdoor science lab with researchers and undergrads taking on projects in the area once known as Coldspring Valley Nature Sanctuary. Reyna talks about her place in Hamilton and her role in the research in lot M in this McMaster produced video:

I went back to the same spot to grab a time-lapse of Lot M, post asphalt removal to create the 30m minimum required buffer between the parking lot and Ancaster Creek, a cold water creek that was moved to allow more parking in the 1960s. There's hope for the future of this space, which formerly was a Royal Botanical Gardens nature sanctuary known as Coldspring Valley. We will have some updates to announce soon! With your help, we can keep moving forward to see more of this area returned to nature. Please sign-up to keep informed about developments and campaigns from Restore Cootes!

Every so often I shoot some video to illustrate events going on in our area of interest, geographically speaking, in and around Cootes Paradise. A series of (currently nine) short videos touching on changes in McMaster parking lot M, turtles crossing Cootes Drive, Spencer Creek Trail, and McMaster artists contributions to the cause, are all in the playlist on my Youtube channel. I hope you can check some of them out, and if you have any questions or advice I'd love to hear from you! Randy

Guest Blogger: Carly Stephens  S ince its inception, Parking to Paradise has been a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration. Many readers are familiar with the Ancaster Creek riparian buffer and restoration work along the Northwest border of the parking lot. Interested parties across many faculties and disciplines have worked together to restore this ecosystem and raise awareness about the impacts urbanization on the natural environment. Nurtured by the time, commitment and hard work donated by volunteers and students, the land has grown into a site of green infrastructure, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable development. Read about Reyna Matties' Master’s work on retrofitting storm water management systems on the lot in the December 7, 2015 post below . Now, it’s the social sciences turn to learn where green infrastructure developments - as with the case of Lot M - fits into our social world. Students build turtle habitat on buffer My research involves exploring...

Dress for success! We will see ghost trails, pioneer cemeteries, lost ponds, and a whole lot of former parking now turned into a riparian zone beside Ancaster Creek. This event is free. Be ready to go at12:30pm at McMaster University Student centre room 229, Tuesday, November 8/16.

Feel free to join us at 6:30pm - Binkley Crescent at Lakelet.

Reyna Matties (McMaster Biology) took care of visitors to Lot M this week, explaining a brief history of the area, and the current work on the depaved and rehabilitated riparian buffer between McMaster's parking lot "M" and Ancaster Creek. "...around 50 cyclists, a mix of students, professors, and community members, gathered to take part in a bike tour of the city. The bike tour was part of McMaster's Big Ideas Better Cities: Climate Change and Environment week of events. Michael Egan, Associate Professor of History in the Faculty of Humanities, organized and led the event from the Tim Horton's Field in downtown Hamilton through the city to Dundas." http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/hamilton-bike-tour-tells-story-of-hamiltons-past-and-future/

Having visitors from out of province, never mind bright young engaged members of the national Engineers Without Borders (EWB) group, was a real treat and a great way to show-off the changes at McMaster's parking lot "M". No Parking! The 30m buffer displaced car parking to protect Ancaster Creek The EWB crew arrived by city bus at McMaster and were met by Reyna Matties (McMaster biology) and Randy Kay (Restore Cootes/ OPIRG McMaster ). Hamilton is playing host this weekend to an annual national EWB conference, and the tour of Lot M was one of the field trip options. Reyna and I were very happy with the turnout! Reyna (centre) explains the biology of the riparian zone at Ancaster Creek The group had about an hour, so we did a truncated version of our usual tour. It was cold but we ended up spending the entire time outside, resulting in a few cold toes by the end. We walked the length of "Maria's Walk", the last mostly-intact trail from the Ro...

Guest blogger: Reyna Matties  Urbanization displaces and degrades ecosystems that are critical for humans, animals, and plants. Sustainable urban development has become a priority in the challenge to re-design our ageing infrastructure. Working to coexist peacefully with the surrounding environment will increase sustainability. As a graduate student of Biology at McMaster University, I am studying the applied ecology and hydrology of a parking lot system (Lot M). Ancaster Creek, a rare cold-water ecosystem, runs along Lot M and is part of an essential wildlife corridor for native species such as salmon, turtle, and deer. Together with Dr. Susan Dudley, I am working to retrofit the stormwater management of the system to minimize the impact of contaminants and runoff into the creek. One method of achieving this goal is through increasing and restoring the land next to the creek. This is called a riparian buffer, which protects the system by providing habitat for animals, incre...

Join your guides Reyna Matties (McMaster biology) and Randy Kay (Restore Cootes) for a lunch time jaunt into the past, present and future of McMaster's Lot M Parking. This former floodplain was a Royal Botanical Garden Nature Sanctuary until purchased by McMaster in 1963 for a massive parking lot. But in 2014 some big changes started to improve the natural environment. Come see what's happening now. Wednesday, November 4, 2015 Meet at the OPIRG McMaster Resource Centre, McMaster University Student Centre Room 229  12:30pm departure, hike lasts approximately one hour, you can stay for all our leave early Sign up at the Facebook page for the hike .

RBG working with Hydro One on turning Cootes parking lot into turtle nesting area Hamilton Spectator  By Craig Campbell Working with land owner Hydro One, the Royal Botanical Gardens has created a management plan that will turn an informal Cootes Paradise parking lot into a meadow and turtle nesting area. There is no plan to reopen public access through Hydro One's Olympic Drive property to the Desjardins Canal and an unofficial trail. "The authorized water access for Cootes Paradise is Princess Point," said Tys Theysmeyer, RBG director of lands. He said access through the private property became "totally abused" with, among other issues, illegal dumping, overnight tractor trailer parking and vehicles destroying grass areas. Hydro One and the Royal Botanical Gardens have agreed on a plan to manage the location. "Much of the gravel will be removed and the area turned into a meadow," he said. "Some of the gravel will be used to build...

Hamilton Spectator By Randy Kay Tucked into the gravel sandbar known as Burlington Heights, in a small family plot, the bones of T.B. McQuesten are laid. It's a fitting resting place for a man who could claim the distinctive geography of the Heights as one of his life's canvases. McQuesten family plot, Hamilton Cemetery Photo by RK. When the earth opened to receive him in 1948, the Hamilton Cemetery overlooked the peaceful Chedoke River Valley with Princess Point an easy landmark. Further along York Boulevard stand monuments to his time on earth: the signature high level bridge over the canal, the Royal Botanical Gardens' Rock Garden, or across York Boulevard from the cemetery a restored Dundurn Castle. The marrow of McQuesten's contributions to the city are in each of these places. His days on the influential city parks board spanned almost three decades until his death, the lasting results found in natural spaces and parks like Gage Park, Kings Forest, the ...

                                            walk          bike       transit      auto        count Faculty &  Staff 10% 11% 16% 63% 13000 Students 23% 9% 42% 26% 24000 All 18% 10% 33% 39% 37000 Note total trips by automobile are 39%. In the 1960s projections were that by 1980 54% of people would be arriving by car, so a significant shift of 15% away from car use. McMaster parking lot M, built on floodplain for Ancaster Creek Shifts in transportation choices and options continue to be discussed, with McMaster's Institute on Transportation and Logistics working on a Transportation Demand Management plan for the university that was initiated by volunteer group Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC). With media reporting the news that Ham...

No, this is not about vampires (although in a way it is, too) - anytime we think of the changes wrought by McMaster in the name of parking, we need only to look across the creek to get a reflection of what was. Above is the scene west of McMaster's parking lot (obviously not taken in winter) - this is what is buried beneath the fill and the pavement that elevated McMaster's parking lot above the floodplain level, taking away that natural diverse function --  and replacing it with a place to store cars. Even recent positive developments creating a naturalized buffer between cars and creek can't address the fact that it is all done atop the fill that keeps the land above the flood levels. Floodplains are important ecologically special areas and habitat. So the buffer is better than pavement, but it's not the real deal in terms of what the area was before, and with the right conditions, could be again. March 2011, McMaster Parking Lot M Until that da...