While changes have been made to address concerns surrounding congestion and traffic, concerns remain for residents in the area of the proposed development

By Tommy Osborne

Proposed Development

Despite cutbacks, concerns around potential new homes remains

Dec 3, 2024 | 4:11 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – A development in the area of 8640 St.Lawrence Avenue and 2800 Vista Ridge Drive was once again the topic of a public hearing during December 2’s City Council meeting. The proposed development plans on bringing more homes to Prince George, but several residents in the area have concerns. A common theme among the speakers at the public hearing was traffic, congestion, and over densification.

“We talked about the traffic. I think they (the traffic study done by L and M Engineering) identified that once this new area is built out, it’s going to be, I think, predicted 1350 extra vehicles a day,” said Prince George City Councillor Brian Skakun.

To address the concerns raised during a previous public hearing, L and M Engineering, the applicant, said it has scaled down development from 125 units a hectare to 75 units a hectare. It also restricted building apartment buildings, as well as retailers, clubs, and convenience stores. While Councillor Trudy Klassen was upset to see the losses of these amenities, as she believed it to be a potential selling point for people moving to the area, L and M Engineering said these restrictions address the community’s concerns, and also make things easier as far as classifications go. L and M Engineering added it has done several traffic studies, so the changes and amendments it proposes with the roads is all up to code, but those at the public hearing believe the traffic study doesn’t account for specific things like considering the challenges of icy conditions and a stop sign on a hill.

“Southridge right now is really congested, especially around school times. And they’re (L and M Engineering) also talking about putting a stop sign at the bottom of the hill of Southridge and St. Lawrence and the residents just identified that as a hazard, that it’s a blind corner, it’s slippery in the winter,” Skakun said.

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Beyond this one particular stop sign, traffic as a whole remained a big concern, as the residents that spoke expressed concerns about commuting if an additional 1350 cars are expected in the area. One possible solution that was briefly discussed was an expansion of Ospika Boulevard, which would certainly address these concerns, but Skakun was quick to shut this down as it’s unfeasible.

“The Ospika extension, it could be literally decades down the road. And if we start tackling something like that in the next five, ten years, we are looking at tens of millions of dollars, we don’t even know the cost. We have other infrastructure projects to put forward,” Skakun said.

Other councillors, like Susan Scott, said they understand the concerns the residents have, but believe housing has to be built amid an ongoing housing and affordability crisis.

“Not everybody is going to want more housing in their backyard. But we have our opportunity to make it effective, to make it fill the area and that’s why I felt we should go ahead with it,” Scott said.

While Scott, alongside several other councillors, is eager to get more housing, she also wants to make sure the residents in the area are satisfied.

“We need to do our part to make sure that we respond to those questions and concerns and hold developers accountable,” Scott said.

City Council voted in favour of moving forward with continuing to discuss this development, which will include public surveys, city council meetings, forums, and more, as planning continues.

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by Tommy Osborne

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Despite cutbacks, concerns around potential new homes remains

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