From: Kim the Traffic Reporter
I arrived at the Fort Rouge Yards Project open house at the Lord Roberts School on Beresford at about 5:15p.m., there was already quite a few people in attendance even though the event didn't officially start until 5:30. According to Adam Dooley of Dooley Communications the final tally in attendance was 120.
This is the final public consultation being put on by the developer Lexington Development Corporation, there had been three other consultations though only the one held on July 29th was open to the public. The rest had been by invitation only.
There have been changes made stemming from the feedback at the July open house.
* the removal of one of the 20 storey high-rises
* additional parking
* supports the re-opening of Argue Street
* elimination of public or subsidized housing
* opening pathways for the public to get to new greenspaces near the BRT line
* maintaining the existing community garden near the community centre at Argue Street
* Lexington Development also plans to create a $500 000.00 development fund for neighbourhood improvements such as parks, gardens and schools as well as community centres.
- Lexington has scaled back the plans to two buildings capped at 21 storeys, these buildings will be kept back from the street in the far southwest corner of the development project. Reader boards detailed the shadows which would be cast. Smaller buildings will be used instead, including at least two that are between 8 and 10 storeys.
- Lexington has added parking for their development and assures residents parking will be permitted on City streets, however a soccer pitch is next to Argue and people are concerned that there will not be enough parking in the area to be able to handle additional vehicles on game days which will force parking to be moved to the surrounding streets. Traffic engineers from Dillon Consulting indicated there wouldn't be a large number of vehicles for those events as most people live in the community, however no numbers were available to substantiate those claims. According to William Kavanagh of Dillon Consulting 115 new parking spots will be added.
- Plans for Argue could include traffic circles as well as on-street parking, however there are no current plans to extend Argue as a through street to Jubilee, or south to Brandon and Morley. This is an issue which was raised by one area resident Raymond Bow who lives on Walker.
According to Raymond there are now tractor/trailer units travelling down Walker which is not listed as truck route and he fears that without a through street from Argue not only will this continue, but will worsen as vehicles attempt to get to the Safeway.
Raymond did say he is "worried about significant increases to traffic with these plans" and wants a through street from Argue to Morley where lights are located. Raymond also indicated that he "doesn't mind the project" except for traffic and sewer issues. Raymond further went on to say he "doesn't believe the city" and he "doesn't believe a word Gerbasi says".
One lady who lives on Jubilee stated she has lived there for 30 years and that traffic keeps increasing and while she wants more people in the area, a big concern is to fix the roads so they can handle the traffic flow.
- Area Councillor Jenny Gerbasi was in attendance at this event, when asked about a comment made a Winnipeg Free Press article by Jen Skerritt as to whether or not Gerbasi supports this project, Gerbasi indicated that because this will have to go before a committee she sits on she "doesn't want to bias herself" prior to the application being made and presented to any committees and she is "trying to keep an open mind".
- There is mixed community reaction to this project, some residents really don't like the plans while others think it's a good idea and those who are on the fence. Some feel there are not enough apartments for seniors and that the price which would range about $900.00 per month for a small space is simply wrong and that there is a strong elderly contingent in this neighbourhood.
One resident said this is "working class neighbourhood" and that the development may not fit the neighbourhood. Parking and traffic issues also caused some heated debates, some residents didn't seem to believe what they were being told that parking and traffic would not be an issue. Other residents simply don't want the development, instead desiring a park and more greenspace.
- Some attendees did feel as though this were a "sales pitch" and that it was already a "done deal" no matter what their concerns may have been and that they have not received any "straight answers".
- There was one resident who is an architect who brought up the point that the BRT station is being built in the wrong location, instead of it's current placement which would be on the east end of the development closer to Osborne, it should be moved to the west corner as it would be a better placement to Jubilee. This gentleman also expressed concern that there was no park and ride facilities. Instead there are "kiss and ride" areas. These areas are meant for someone to be dropped off only, no parking allowed. This is a City issue not one for Lexington Development.
Many residents like the idea of bringing in more people. Project consultant Adam Dooley lives in the area and informed me that Lord Roberts School lost their full time librarian due to the drop in enrollment. He would be glad to see more families come into the neighbourhood.
Plans have not been submitted to City Hall and likely will not be finalized until the new year. Future notifications to invite the public to attend any City committee meetings will be posted in the newspapers or by checking the City website City Clerks department for schedules and agendas (who reads those?- ed.).
Information can also be found on a website from Lexington Development www.fortrougeyards.com.
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Kim's thoughts
I said in July and I'll say it again, I don't live in the area, I don't know the dynamics of this neighbourhood so I don't know if this is a good plan or not. I think parts of these plans have merit. Certainly bringing in more people could be a good thing for the schools, definitely the loss of a full time librarian at the school hurts the community though I'm partial to books.
I have heard many voices both pro and con. Certainly not all people are going to like the plan and not all are going to hate the plan. Somewhere there are compromises. But there are issues, real and valid issues. Such as parking and traffic. There will be extra vehicles traveling the area. Not only from residents, but their visitors as well. Not to mention all the additional services such as couriers etc., so the residents do have a point.
For the consultants to say that the soccer pitch which will be used for other purposes as well that there won't be parking problems is a little naive in my opinion. I've seen from first hand experience how many cars end up being parked for those games. Those side streets are already heavily utilized for parking.
Argue has been the bone of contention in that neighbourhood for a while now. Perhaps the City should look at opening the street to thru traffic not only to Jubilee but to other areas as well, such as Brandon and Morley. This could significantly decrease the amount of traffic speeding down other streets such as Kylemore or Walker. There has to be a place traffic can go to ease the burden on the surrounding area. It almost appears as though the City's traffic engineers just don't get the fact that when you impact one street you impact the surrounding area. The traffic has to flow somewhere.
Another bone of contention is the height of the buildings. Even though Lexington Development assures people there won't be shadows, for some it is a matter of the view for others they just don't want the monstrosity of a large building in their community as they feel it would detract from the dynamics of their neighbourhood. For some it's just a matter they love to watch the sunset.
A shout out and pat on the back to Shane Cooper of Dillon Consulting who truly did a great job on reassuring the community that their sewers weren't going to all of a sudden back up due to the influx of 1800 new residents and guests. Frankly after all the open houses I've attended I can say he was one of the more outstanding consultants with which I've had dealings.
After these meetings, the community still has the right to stand up and have their say. Remember folks there are still hoops the development corporation has to jump through and you have the right and power to be there to present your voice and your views. I would encourage you to stay with the process be it pro or con, let your Councillor and City Hall know how you feel by attending these committee meetings and have your say.
