A spokesperson for the residents’ coalition supports in principle the direction laid out in City of Powell River’s engagement summary for the Maple and Sycamore safer streets project in Townsite.
At the May 2 committee of the whole meeting, Diana Collicutt, a Maple Avenue resident who has been for advocating modifications to the $500,000 active transportation plan, said the residents will now wait until a final detailed plan is completed and available for public review, if that is what council decides, before making a final decision.
Also at the committee of the whole meeting, city manager of planning services Daniella Fergusson outlined findings from three public engagement sessions in mid-April, where 223 people attended and more than 400 comments were received. Following consultations, several modifications to the plan were proposed, including leaving parking as it currently is. Under the plan that the city was initially considering, parking spaces would have been lost in the new design for the streets.
“According to the engagement summary report, there were comments in support of this project as planned, and there were many, many, many comments opposed,” said Collicutt. “We believe the city has heard clearly how the plan would impact our neighbourhood.”
Collicutt said the residents recognize the Aspen/Maple/Sycamore intersection is not considered safe and needs improvement. They also recognize the Hemlock/Maple intersection needs a comprehensive study at all different times and even different seasons to determine the best solution before finalizing the design in this location.
The city has received well-thought-out input regarding the Hawthorn/Maple intersection that needs to be considered before altering the stop sign configuration, said Collicutt.
“This is a busy intersection with multiple users, and we encourage consultation with the trucking industry, the transit authority and school-bus-driver stakeholder groups before any changes are made,” she added.
Collicutt said reducing the speed limit and installing curb letdowns at intersections are good things. She added that some residents have requested more street trees, which add shade and aesthetic improvement. However, it is recognized that street trees need regular watering and maintenance over the long term.
Collicutt said while it is unfortunate this project does not consider Willow Avenue as a corridor, the city needs to take serious action to upgrade this street; it is in need of significant repair and has been for many years.
“We therefore ask that council consider using some of the $4.2 million the city has received from the province for infrastructure improvements to go towards repaving and potentially sidewalk installation near Henderson [Elementary] School,” said Collicutt. “The upgrades and repairs would improve the safety along the route and be good for the community.”
Collicutt said residents started a petition to bring to council’s attention that they did not support the plan as proposed, because there was a lack of direct consultation with the residents, there were safety concerns for vehicles, buses, snow plows and emergency vehicles to maneuver safely around traffic calming measures, parking spaces would be removed, and no data was gathered to determine the level of the problem to justify the extensive reconfiguration and spending of tax dollars. She said 278 people signed the petition and 152 of those were from Maple Avenue.
“If the project plan is amended as proposed by the staff recommendations,” said Collicutt, “these concerns are addressed and the project has now become more fiscally responsible, which we think is a win-win for the community.”
