Editor:
The opinions expressed at last Monday's (June 28) Gospel Rock neighbourhood plan open house varied widely in ideals, cosmology and sensitivity to potential commissions. But the most frequent concerns I heard were the reappearance of waterfront development after a majority of residents surveyed voted against it, and the lack of any guarantee a northern route would get built within the town to prevent new demands on Mahon Road or Pratt Road.
I have no doubt the motions passed the next day at the committee meeting, to approach the owner of Block 7 about acquiring the waterfront and to produce an updated traffic study, were good faith responses to these concerns. But there is a simpler and, I think, more effective solution: eliminate the proposed waterfront development on the west side of Block 7 and allow what's proposed on the east side.
If the neighbourhood plan is written so a sewer line isn't allowed to run any further along Gower Point Road than the eastern side of the waterfront, then not only is most of the waterfront conserved, but a bridge over the gully at Inglis Road becomes a prerequisite for developing the rest of the neighbourhood.
Whatever vague commitment the developers are prepared to offer about the eventual construction of a bridge for traffic reasons, I would find it much more credible if that were the only way they were allowed to connect to the sewer system. If the town has them by their waste disposal needs, surely their hearts and minds will follow.
David Stow
Gibsons
