As crews work to build the foundation for a 120,000-pound structure to house a critical piece Oak Bay fire safety equipment, various users of the space find themselves at odds.
Making the best of a bad situation, Oak Bay opted to close the parking lot near Firefighters’ Park to the public. That leaves other users of the adjacent ball field, playground and youth group halls without parking or drop off on-site, facing signage barring public entry.
Drivers are at times missing, misreading or ignoring the signage, leading to backup and blockages in the parking lot, say district staff.
Closing the lot at 1703 Monterey Avenue to the vehicle traffic wasn’t the first option considered, though other ideas were quickly discarded out of safety concerns, primarily for cyclists and pedestrians. It also takes into account the need to keep space clear to allow for 24/7 emergency response by police and fire.
“It’s been so challenging to get consensus and consistent safe access,” said Fire Chief Frank Macdonald. “We need to wait.”
A project years in the making, and delayed by several real-world production factors, the decision to purchase a truck too tall for the historic hall came down to safety and planning for the future.
When buying such expensive and key equipment, with something in the range of a 20-year lifespan, you’re trying to future-proof, Macdonald said. When the process to procure a new ladder truck started years ago, that was the plan. The equipment purchased looks at the existing infrastructure such as roads, while looking to the future building potential, recently upped by provincial regulations specifically created to boost housing in the community.
The Oak Bay Fire Department previously planned its purchases to fit the historic 1938 building, but this time they purchased the best truck to serve the community.
The 105-foot rear mount aerial ladder truck expected to arrive this summer was judged as the best fit for the community and the regional landscape – including maintenance capabilities.
While residents have suggested housing the truck at other sites in the community, the idea is to put the new fire protection equipment into use, which can’t be done without a crew. Macdonald notes when the current truck is out at public works getting fuel or the grocery store so a crew can grab food, it comes with a full complement of four firefighters. Everyone assigned to the truck that shift goes with.
A truck in service can’t just park anywhere, it needs to be accessible so firefighters can achieve the standardized required response times.
“We can’t have that truck too far away,” Macdonald said simply.
When the search for storage solutions started three or four years ago, many things were considered, including one the district has seen suggested in recent weeks – a quonset hut, which is a structure of corrugated steel with a semi-circular cross-section that the U.S. Navy developed as an all-purpose, lightweight building that could be shipped anywhere and assembled without skilled labour.
While that would go up more quickly than the structure selected, it would also require a larger footprint, meaning the lower short-term impacts translate to longer term overall parking impact.
While the structure is deemed temporary, a new emergency services building is far on the horizon. The district embarked on a feasibility study in February with a goal to have a set of preferred technical locations by early next year. The first return to council is expected in September with a technical analysis of what’s needed for the public safety building.
There will be a few more weeks of impact as crews excavate and upgrade the foundation for the temporary structure. Once it arrives, there’s concrete and hydro work to be done taking the work likely into late July.
The district also can’t commit to what the parking lot will look like after the structure is in place. The space also serves as firefighter training ground – traditionally at the back of the lot nearest the ball fields where a training tower once stood, but potentially reconfigured given the new building.
“We’re trying to be nimble and creative with what we’re doing here,” Macdonald said, lamenting the timing coinciding with the busiest time at the ball field. “Ideally this work would have been done now.”
