The former GM Transmission Plant on Walker Rd. is destined to become a parking lot.
That's according to a document going before Windsor City Council Monday night.
Essex Terminal Railway plans to use the property as a staging area to load-and-offload vehicles to-and-from railcars. Close to 6,000 spaces will be spread across more than 45-acres on Walker Rd. near Seminole St.
Ward 3 councilor Rino Bortolin says he can't think of a less appealing use for prime real estate.
"Great fill in opportunity for new housing development, there could be mixed use along Walker Rd. budding to the market on Ottawa St.," says Bortolin. "There's lots of opportunities for that area, a parking lot is probably the least desirable choice."
A Tweet by Mayor Drew Dilkens says the issue, "is coming to Council in public session for full debate on Monday."
It is coming to Council in public session for full debate on Monday. https://t.co/0lzcRT7ifq
— Mayor Drew Dilkens (@drewdilkens) August 26, 2017
Bortolin says the land is currently zoned for the ETR's intended use.
"This is not something that's actually coming for approval before council, it's just a communications item where planning is just letting us know that these are the plans for that area," says Bortolin. "It's zoned for this, so ETR has the ability to use the land for that purpose."
Aside from the visual blight a sea of cars and trucks will add to the area, Bortolin says increased rail use could be a concern for drivers stretching from Walker Rd. to Tecumseh Rd. E.
Stretch of the Essex Terminal Railway running along side a proposed way-point between Walker Rd. and Kildare Rd. Sunday Aug. 27, 2017. (Photo by AM800's Gord Bacon)
"Is the usage of that rail-line going to increase quite a bit? Meaning traffic delays and things like that on all the streets it criss-cross' through that neighbourhood," he says. "So if there is a lot of action on that rail-line, how will it impact the different areas."
The GM Transmission Plant closed in July 2010.