The Corporation of Hamilton is considering more parking on Par-La-Ville Road as a new office building offers no underground parking for its staff.

And The Royal Gazette can reveal the original plan for the Maxwell Roberts House, rapidly under construction at the corner of Par-La-Ville Road and Church Street in Hamilton, was changed to eliminate all parking bays in the building.

The plans showed: “A converted parking area for two cars. Converted to a commercial area”.

Assistant Engineer for the Corporation of Hamilton, Patrick Cooper, said last night he envisaged staff would park at Par-La-Ville car park, or “on the street”, depending on the parking restrictions already in place.

Mr. Cooper said he had not seen the plans for the Maxwell Roberts House as he joined the Corporation in May.

“I imagine it is in a restricted parking zone, as set out in the City of Hamilton Plan 2001,” he said. He said the City of Hamilton Plan was a joint development between the Planning Department and the Corporation of Hamilton “to determine key policies about what should and should not happen in the city”.

“The Corporation's position on parking is one of constant change,” he said.

And it was difficult, he said, to strike the balance between keeping drivers of both commercial and commuter vehicles happy.

“The city has responded well (to change) in the past,” he said. However, when Mr. Cooper was informed of the lack of parking - especially for bikes - on Par-la-Ville Road, he said commuters in the area could write to the Corporation to ask for more parking.

“If people in a building, or even an individual, write in and tell us about the parking problem, we will review our position and possibly add new spaces”.

“All parking is up for review to meet the changing nature of the City. What was acceptable 20 years ago is not acceptable any more,” he said.

In 2001, a full tenth of the city's land area was dedicated to parking.

And this month about 100 parking bays were re-opened and made available to use at Bull's Head Car Park. The car park is still under renovation to expand the parking area which is not expected to be completed until next spring. Office space in the city doubled between 1979 and 1996. The 1991 census showed that 50 percent of those commuting to Hamilton were doing so in cars with the bulk of those cars containing only one person.

But the 2000 census figures revealed a decrease in single-passenger commuters, as only 24 percent of all commuters drive to work with one person in the car, while 31 percent take a bike. Another 18 percent go to work in a car with others.

The Maxwell Roberts House in the City of Hamilton contributed to a total of $22.7 million worth of construction work during the last financial quarter.

“It's only white paint on the ground,” Mr. Cooper said.