Plans for a daycare in the new office building at Suter Brook are back on the drawing board.
Port Moody council did not support an application that came before it in July after a public hearing that raised concerns about traffic congestion, parking, safety and other potential uses for the site at 220 Brew St.
Since the public hearing, Onni Development has stepped up parking enforcement at Suter Brook, including a two-week warning period in August followed by ticketing that has reduced the number of parking offences, according to a staff report.
Onni has also contracted a traffic engineer to draft improvements to the parkade entrances at Morrissey Road and Brew Street. The proposed changes include installing barriers at the base of Morrissey to facilitate traffic movement, adding flashing amber lights and improving paint markings and speed humps.
Concerns about parking are addressed in Onni's new plan to devote 19 spaces for peak morning and afternoon hours. A transportation consultant determined that for a 157-child daycare, there would be up to 254 in/out trips daily but that would likely be reduced to 178 trips after factoring in families living nearby and walking to the daycare, people working in the office building and using the facility, and families with more than one child at the daycare.
The parking plan notes that even with dedicated spaces for the daycare, there will still be a total surplus of about 30 spaces for the parkade as a whole.
As well, Onni is proposing to make up to 10 spaces on the Brew Street frontage restricted to 15-minute parking, which could be used by parents for drop-off and pick-up.
At last week's meeting, council considered Onni's amended land use contract that would restrict use of the second floor to an office or daycare. Council passed second reading of the amended bylaw and approved a public hearing that is scheduled for Nov. 25 at city hall.
In the summer, Onni said they were close to signing a 15-year lease, with an option to extend for five years, with Kids & Company, a national corporate-owned daycare operator.
