As federal employees search for a parking spot at the Carling campus of the Department of National Defence (DND) in Ottawa’s west end, officials are looking at ways to get public servants to the office. An internal memo obtained by CTV News shows senior defence officials are now working with the City of Ottawa and OC Transpo to find solutions before parking woes spiral further. According to the memo, officials expect parking pressure to worsen this fall as more workers return to office. The memo outlines possible solutions following a meeting with city and OC Transpo officials, including express buses from key transit hubs, nearby park-and-ride lots, and discounted transit passes. The document also explores a possible sidewalk link from the future Moodie LRT station to Carling campus — a roughly one-and-a-half kilometre walk. Dilip Bhaskaranpillai, one of roughly five thousand DND employees coming to the Carling campus each day, says there aren’t enough parking spots for everyone. “There is no parking space in DND right now … horrible days are like Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays because most people come to the office on that day,” Bhaskaranpillai said. “It’s not good. I mean, it’s completely packed.” Many workers call parking a nightmare and those that park in the wrong spot during that scramble, risk a repercussion. “I got a ticket from that, the Carling campus, and my car got towed away,” Bhaskaranpillai said. The memo says DND and city staff are expected to continue talks ahead of a planned meeting between Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and Defence Minister David McGuinty later this month. OC Transpo says talks are still early, but Bhaskaranpillai calls the discussions a positive sign. He says he’d leave the car at home to avoid the morning parking disaster if reliable transit existed. “No, I don’t want to get towed again. I don’t need to pay $400 every day, right?” he said. DND said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa on Thursday that it met with city and transit officials on May 15 to discuss parking at the Carling campus. “DND is working closely with the city to assess a variety of options to address key challenges, including safety issues and transit convenience, as it prepares to implement the Government of Canada’s updated direction on the prescribed presence in workplace, which will create increased pressure on parking and transit at NDHQ Carling,” the statement said. “Officials agreed on the need for coordinated, short- and long-term solutions to support workforce mobility and Ottawa’s role as a growing defence hub. DND and the city will continue working together to support transit and service planning.”
