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Church Says Parking Lot "Not a Done Deal"

Tuesday, 26 March 2013 at 11:17

The old saying about keeping church and state separate might not apply when it comes to downtown parking. The City of Woodstock has a potential deal with the Church of the Epiphany in Woodstock to open up a new municipal parking lot, on a plot of currently unused land. City Council has approved a 25-year land lease with the city to build a 40-space parking lot at Wellington and Peel Streets. City Development Commissioner Len Magyar says both the city and church will benefit. "We gain about 40 parking spaces. What the Church gains is a municipal style parking lot that their parishioners can use. Because of the types of uses, what we're looking for is typically day use, and they're looking for more evening and Sunday." Magyar says the new spaces are needed, as the other municipal lot in that vicinity, the Market Centre Lot, is sometimes 75% full during weekdays. He says that's because of the redevelopment of the old post office building, along with City Hall and the County Admin Building drawing more traffic downtown. But, as the Church points out, it's not a done deal. While city council may have approved, Church of the Epiphany Warden Rob Winlaw says the idea is still in their committee phase before moving to Parish Council. "And if we can explain everything and answer all of Parish Council's questions, they will have a vote. If it is passed, we then have a special Vestry Meeting, which is going to take about 2-months before that even happens." The plan would also need the blessing of the Diocese. "We have quite a process to go through. We just can't have a signed, sealed and delivered contract in anytime in the near future." Should all church approvals be made, construction could begin this summer, and the lot ready for use sometime in the fall. As Winlaw points out, this is an idea that's been kicked around in Woodstock for sometime. "Apparently this idea has been going on for up to 15-20-years. It's never gotten this far before, it's always just been a concept."

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