Complete picture missing in Murrayville proposal
Editor: What is wrong with the Murrayville apartment proposal is the lack of the communication of the complete development picture to the public. In the Dec. 21 Times article, senior Township planner John Geraghty suggests “staff can provide council with proposals to address our concerns” about building height and traffic.
Geraghty further goes on to say our issues are “not considered new information.” However, the development permit application we were sent contains no discussion of traffic planning to handle the increased volume of traffic in our neighbourhood.
With multi-family rezoning proceeding in the area, plans addressing the road infrastructure and traffic planning need to be shared with the public before the developments are built. If the public is not provided with complete information, then how can we have a meaningful public hearing process?
The Murrayville Community Plan has very specific guidelines concerning the development of the area and road use. The community plan identifies the need for a “comprehensive development plan” for the land owned by Century Group because of “restricted access to the lands located northeast of the Fraser Highway and 223 Street.”
With access to this site being planned off 50 Avenue, a significant departure from the community plan guidelines has also occurred because the guidelines state “local roads should be designed to discourage through traffic.”
When I spoke with Jan Timmer, Century Group’s architect, it became clear that the traffic impact on 50 Avenue was not well considered, particularly the movement of traffic heading past the single family homes on 50 Avenue to access 56 Avenue via 224 Street.
Given that the architect was unaware that this is the most direct route to Highway 1 from the site, this indicates improper planning and analysis concerning traffic movement prior to the public hearing.
As a resident of the area, I look forward to learning about the development changes at the future open house Century Group will be hosting. I also hope Township planners will be in attendance to share the answers to our concerns.
However, it is still unfortunate the public hearing process proceeded without complete details addressing the impact of the high density development in our neighbourhood.
Paula Thomlinson,
Langley
COMMENTS
Let's keep comments:
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters.
We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.