Parking problems reach boiling point at DND Carling Campus

Parking problems have persisted at DND's Carling Campus as employees say there aren't enough spaces in the parking lot. Photo by TONY CALDWELL /POSTMEDIA

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Military police ordered the towing of 13 cars belonging to government workers at the Department of National Defence’s Carling Campus as long-running problems with parking at the site have hit a new boiling point.

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Public servants have taken to social media to complain about a new initiative by military police that has seen cars towed from the Department of National Defence headquarters on Carling Avenue.

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Military staff and government workers can buy a monthly parking pass for $75. But even with a pass, not everyone is guaranteed a spot.

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DND employees report that each morning there is a scramble to find spots and some staff have taken to parking partially on grass or at the end of rows of vehicles in what are considered non-designated spaces.

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June Winger, national president of the Union of National Defence Employees, said the towing is a new development but the parking problems at the Carling Campus have gone on for years.

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“Unfortunately, the parking passes being oversold is not new and has been frustrating employees for quite some time,” said Winger. “Securing a parking spot at the Carling Campus seems to be more difficult than purchasing tickets to a Taylor Swift concert.”

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DND spokesperson Nick Drescher Brown confirmed that so far this month 13 cars have been towed because of military police enforcement. He noted that peak demand for parking at the campus usually occurs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and that the parking lot is often at near capacity.

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“During these periods, many employees have parked illegally wherever space appears available, including on grassy areas along roadways or at the ends of parking rows,” Drescher Brown explained. “While we acknowledge and appreciate employees’ frustration, illegal parking is unsafe. We have no choice but to tow.”

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Unions representatives have been raising concerns for years with management about the lack of parking at the DND campus but little has been done.

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Winger pointed out that the senior executives who have the ability to deal with the problem, all have guaranteed parking spots that are free. “It is hard to motivate managers who are (executives) or equivalent, when they are appointed parking and don’t have to pay for it, to resolve issues for employees who aren’t as fortunate,” she said.

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The federal government spent $800 million on acquiring and outfitting the former Nortel complex for the DND’s needs. It has argued that initiative will see substantial savings from consolidating many of the department’s employees into one site.

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Defence planners, however, failed to account for enough parking for the department’s employees.