Three pieces of correspondence expressing opposition to the Maple Avenue and Sycamore Street safer streets project will be referred to planning staff.
Project plans include taking federal/provincial grant money and money allocated by Powell River Community Forest to transform the Sycamore and Maple corridor to facilitate active transportation.
At the April 18 committee of the whole meeting, city councillors considered correspondence from Grant Cowan, Agnes Dunn, and Diana Collicutt, who wrote on behalf of Maple Avenue residents’ coalition and petitioners.
Committee chair councillor Rob Southcott said he wondered if the correspondence could be referred to the city’s planning department, along with other correspondence received.
Councillor Earl Almeida said the letters were written, the city has sponsored engagement sessions in Townsite regarding this project, and the letters all predate that consultation.
“I feel like we’re all in a holding stage,” said Almeida. “In a few weeks from now, at our next committee of the whole, [manager of planning services] Daniella Fergusson will be presenting an update from the engagement sessions and we’ll all be in a better position to provide some answers once we see the results of the engagement sessions.”
Councillor Cindy Elliott said she thanked people for writing to councillors and agreed they should be forwarded to staff for them to consider for their report coming forward in May.
“I look forward to seeing what staff comes back with after all the consultation we’ve been through,” said Elliott. “We’ll come back with decisions at the appropriate meeting when it’s on our agenda, having considered everything that everybody writes to us. I look forward to that meeting and learning what it is they bring forward to us as far as trying to address everybody’s concerns.”
Councillor Jim Palm also thanked the letter writers and said there is a lot of forethought and work that goes into every one of them. He also thanked the residents of the neighbourhood who showed up at the engagement meetings.
“The numbers were quite large and it was a great turnout,” said Palm “I look forward to the report coming in May, and I’m sure there will be a lot of people from the neighbourhood in our chamber on that day.”
Southcott said it was refreshing to have a letter that was handwritten and he noted that not a single letter received regarding the Townsite safer streets initiative has been a form letter.
“I am so glad we can get together, talk and listen and work things out as we always have in this community,” said Southcott. “I am confident that is where we are headed with this as well.”
Councillors voted to refer the correspondence to planning staff, who are scheduled to report at the May 2 committee of the whole meeting.
