The Canadian Parking Association recently published an article about redefining parking as part of a broader green strategy. This article was originally published in December 2018 as "Oxford Properties’ Yorkdale Shopping Centre achieves Canada’s first Parksmart certifications," by Mark Hutchinson, vice president, GBCI Canada for the Canadian Parking Association. Read the full article.
The changing nature of the parking and transportation industry has highlighted the importance of understanding the sector’s environmental impact and its key role in mitigating climate change. Among those leading the charge in this area is the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto’s North York area, which has been no stranger to innovative new initiatives throughout its 50-year history, including a number of sustainability efforts as part of its green program.
In July 2018, the mall achieved Parksmart certification at the Pioneer level for existing parking structures by obtaining more than 90 points for its G Parkade southwest parking garage, and in August, Yorkdale’s newly constructed E Parkade east structure certified Parksmart Bronze by achieving between 110 and 134 points. These are the first Parksmart certified projects in Canada—and the first retail certifications in the world.
For both Yorkdale projects, the Parksmart certification process served to highlight opportunities to maximize and modernize parking assets, ensure strong returns on investment and provide an enhanced parking experience for mall patrons.