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There’s still time to correct this glaring error in judgment — political and architectural — before they both own it. But it will take more leadership than we’ve seen so far from the premier and the mayor.

Both are digging in their heels while putting their heads in the sand of Ontario Place’s landfill. They need to rise above parochial deal making and political grandstanding to do the right thing before it’s too late for our lakefront — and their legacies.

First, let’s get a few things straight about the controversial Ontario Place redevelopment that has gotten so much bad publicity — most of it misplaced, much of it motivated by status quo stakeholders and self-interested politicians.

For better or for worse, there’s no turning back the revival of Ontario Place. I’ve long argued for anchoring the Ontario Science Centre by the waterfront, and it’s here to stay — so rather than getting in the way, people need to find a better way.

Despite the sustained naysaying, it’s a long overdue revival of a derelict, outdated venue that is steeped in nostalgia and frozen in time. Years from now when Ontario Place reopens, the relocated science centre will be the toast of tourists, the much-maligned waterpark and spa will draw huge crowds of engaged visitors, and the sprawling landscaped grounds will get people walking and talking about the setting.

All that said, they’ve lost me on the five-storey parkade by the water, which is a bridge too far. Or more precisely, a barrier to the waterfront.

True, the $400 million Garage Mahal is going up over an existing parking lot. But there’s a big difference between a surface eyesore paved decades ago and a towering atrocity conceived today for decades into the future.

“It’s going to be spectacular,” Ford boasted last month. “You’ll barely even see a parking lot,” thanks to a berm with trees and shrubs.

With 3,500 vehicles crammed into those five storeys, that’s wishful thinking by a premier with a lack of imagination — and determination.

Adam Vaughan, the former city councillor who now represents the Therme Canada spa group, agrees the garage is a missed opportunity. A previous plan to bury the parking underground proved too uneconomical, given challenging soil conditions, but the latest iteration is an admission of defeat, says Vaughan, who once represented a waterfront ward in the area.

The obvious alternative that cries out for reconsideration is a car park on the CNE grounds across Lakeshore Blvd., facing Ontario Place. The sprawling Exhibition grounds are already littered with parking lots that could benefit from consolidation, so why not shoehorn in a new garage topped by a new attraction with crowd appeal?

For her part, the mayor says she made an offer the premier couldn’t refuse. Ford refused.

“I offered (the province) Exhibition Place to say ‘Hey, you want to build a parking lot? Come over to this side,’” Chow said.

“I was trying to get them to build underground and build something beautiful above ground. They did not take my advice but it’s Ontario land, it’s their parking lot. What can I say?”

What could she say? Well, she could say ‘Let’s keep trying again to make a deal.’

After all, Ford said in May, “Stay tuned on the parking lot. We’re working with the city as well — maybe we’ll put it on the other side.”

Lest we forget, Ford and Chow did a historic deal in late 2023 to revamp city finances with provincial help, after which the mayor stopped opposing the Ontario Place redevelopment — a tacit quid pro quo.

“The city has to decide if it wants to be part of the solution, not the problem,” muses Vaughan of Therme (the province is contractually obligated to provide thousands of parking spots for the spa). “The city could still do it.”

But city politics are complicated. Chow has softened her criticism of Ontario Place, but Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik keeps dialing up the volume — and also wields power over the CNE.

While Malik condemned the garage as a barrier to lakeside views, she has also laid down barriers of her own to transplanting any parking to the CNE — hitting up the province for “long-term costs such as the impact on Exhibition Place and CNE operations.” In other words, Malik wants Chow to talk tough on the CNE even if it means a lousy outcome for ɫɫ��’s waterfront at Ontario Place.

Ford won’t play ball. Because he wants control.

Creed Atkinson, chief of staff to the minister of tourism, said the province is proceeding with the parkade because “we own the land,” which means the province needn’t negotiate with the city over more money or lost time: “We feel it’s the optimal location.”

It isn’t optimal, of course. Politics is the art of the possible, but also the desirable — not just the path of least resistance.

If the premier and mayor don’t show more flexibility and humility over this looming mistake on the lake, they’ll both own it — no matter who owns the land.