Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes is holding the federal government responsible for the Canadian Museum of Nature’s plans to build an outdoor parking lot in the west side garden.
She says it was a lack of government funding that brought the museum to scrap plans for an underground parking lot.
The Museum of Nature is the only downtown museum without underground parking, and residents in the area are not happy about the loss of the green space.
A Facebook protest called “Canadian Museum of Nature needs park space not a parking lot” says these plans go against the museum’s original promise to return the space into an urban park.
The museum’s president, Meg Beckell, says the museum is working with engineers to build a lot that maximizes green space, but with the influx of visitors it is experiencing, the museums needs another 150 parking spots.