IT'S GREEN SPACE...
I'm a bit surprised by that as well. As part of the Northern Junk debate, some people claimed that the Wharf Street traffic islands were vital & precious green space. But it's okay to want to pave over the venerable lawn of the legislature? (By the way, I'm pleased to see Mr. Ken Johnson expressing his disapproval of this aspect of the walkway plan in that TC article. At least he's consistent.)
But then again, it reminds me think of the lawn bowling club and how the city wanted to replace that bit of green with a paved space. Methinks somebody at some level is really keen on getting a large new square put in somewhere, one way or another.