Ward 3 Councillor Rino Bortolin is being flooded with calls from concerned residents and business owners who are unhappy with council's decision to revert the ground floor of the Pelissier St. parking garage back into parking.
Bortolin says he is just as frustrated as many of his constituents.
"We turned away and we literally turned our back on all these people who have vested interest in that area. These are the people who have invested on Pelissier, these are the people who have created things like the Downtown Farmers Market," says Bortolin.
He says perhaps the most frustrating thing is discussions like these perpetuate preconceived notions that downtown does not have enough parking.
"The reality is we have an overabundance of parking downtown, and we as a municipality subsidize and have more spots then almost every other municipality in the country," says Bortolin.
He says he will continue to work with the residents and the DWBIA to revitalize and develop the core.
"This is an obstacle, this is a speed bump along the way. Unfortunately I do think it's a mistake, but at the end of the day we keep moving forward with all the other things that we have going on, and looking forward to all the great changes we can make in the core," says Bortolin.
Council made the decision to create around 50 parking spaces on the ground floor of the garage with a 7-4 vote at Monday night's special council meeting. Bortolin believes there should have been a reconsideration motion, and he will wait and see what happens with the DWBIA's complaint to the Ontario Ombudsman.
