It appears some work will have to be done to satisfy people living near the site of a proposed subdivision in the west end of Belleville.
At Tuesday’s Planning Advisory Committee meeting a public meeting was held regarding the proposed Village of Avonlea subdivision.
The proposal is for a subdivision on nearly 45 hectares of land between Avonlough Road and Wallbridge-Loyalist Road.
The subdivision would have a total of 695 units including 260 single detached, 36 semi-detached, 91 townhouses, 68 horizontal multiple attached, eight low-rise apartments with a total of 96 units and three high density apartment buildings with a total of 144 units.
Following a presentation from the applicants, members of the public were given an opportunity to have their say.
One man complimented the work that has been done on consultation with residents of the nearby Hastings Park subdivision, saying the applicants went around the neighbourhood on foot late last fall with their personal information to give to anyone interested in talking about the plans.
He did, however, question what would be done to help him during the buildout as his property on Avonlough Road would be affected.
“… which is the residence that’s going to have its driveway relocated as a result of the change in orientation of Avonlough. I’m going to have a driveway that is about twice as long as it is today and a parkland on the west side of my property. So, my question is, what assurance does the city provide to me regarding the design, the cost, the maintenance and the ownership of those changes to ensure that I am not disadvantaged while this subdivision is developed?”
He also questioned what would be done to improve infrastructure in the Hastings Park subdivision which was once surrounded by field space but, if the Village of Avonlea is approved, will eventually be surrounded by houses.
Another man, also a resident of the Hastings Park subdivision, raised concerns about the roads in the area.
He raised the issue of Hastings Park Drive, which would be extended if the plans move forward, being used as a short cut to evade traffic, creating more traffic in the neighbourhood.
The plans also recommended that speed bumps be put on Hastings Park Drive between Avonlough and Sienna, but the man was apprehensive about that happening citing the city’s history of not using them.
He produced solutions to the issues he raised.
“We recommend to keep Hastings Park Drive as a single access point road, not a through road. This can be accomplished one of two ways. We could retain the current termination of Hastings Park Drive at its east end here, though this would require a minor modification of the approved draft plan, Potters Creek Phase 9B. Or, another alternative would be to proceed with this extension of Hastings Park Drive to Sienna, but do NOT make the connection here to collector road A, and that would of course require a minor modification of the Avonlea plan that was presented today.”
He also suggested traffic calming measures be implemented on Avonlough to avoid it being used as as short cut as well.
The item was not a decision item but was merely up for public consultation which will be used to fuel future design tweaks before it is brought again before the planning committee and, if approved there, council.
