By John Francis
Maybe I’m just easily amused, but it looks to me like there’s a very exciting idea buried in the Agenda for MNBP Council’s July 8 Meeting: the future of the former Tobermory daycare (aka the former St Edmunds Township office).
The property is located across the road from “the clinic”, at the corner of Hwy 6 and Centennial Drive, which is halfway between Dunks Bay Road and Cape Hurd Road.
A CAO Report on the property suggests Council consider five options. I’ve changed the order to put the best one last…
• Sever the building from the rest of the property (which also includes the Meeting Place, dog park, skate park and community gardens) and sell it, as is.
• Demolish the building and turn the property into green space.
• Do nothing (status quo).
• Fix the building up and rent it out.
• Parking Area with Shuttle (aka Tobermory Welcome Centre).
The CAO Report lists the advantages of such a facility:
“Establishing a reservable parking area outside of downtown Tobermory with a shuttle service offers numerous benefits. These include reduced traffic congestion, environmental advantages, an enhanced visitor experience, economic gains, improved urban aesthetics, and greater accessibility. Collectively, these benefits contribute to a more sustainable, enjoyable, and economically vibrant community.
Given that the area is currently serviced by a well and septic system, the addition of public washrooms and a welcome center could further enhance the visitor experience and benefit the area.”
But I think it would be even better than that…
In my opinion, a welcome facility at that location with lots of parking would be a huge asset for tourism.
I do not speak on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce but I hope they would jump at the chance to have a larger facility with washrooms, lots of drinking water and no parking problems.
A welcome centre at this location would probably also reduce the amount of traffic downtown. “Welcomed” visitors would go straight to the appropriate parking lot without driving around the block twice getting their bearings and looking for a place to park…
Removing the welcome centre from the community centre would reduce the demand on the (failing) well and inadequate toilets as well as freeing up the parking spaces currently used as free short-time parking for the information centre. The existing Chamber office could be re-purposed as a meeting room, something the village conspicuously lacks.
My guess is that the existing parking lots on Legion Street and Hay Bay Road would be adequate for weekday traffic. But on weekends, you could run a shuttle between the village and the large parking lot at the “Welcome Centre”. That would improve traffic flow and visitor experience.
I wonder if Council and the Chamber of Commerce will see it this way…
