On Monday, Red Deerians will once again weigh in on whether the City of Red Deer should preserve a road allowance for the future extension of Molly Banister Drive.
A special public hearing will be held at 3 p.m. on Jan. 16 in Red Deer City Council Chambers at City Hall.
Melcor Developments has again submitted an application before council to remove any future road allowance from plans, as the company wants to be able to fully develop a residential neighbourhood south of Sunnybrook without having to leave room for a future road intersection.
The City of Red Deer hosted a public information session about this application last fall, and out of 53 responses from area residents, the majority (62.3 per cent) were in favor of removing the road extension and bridge from city plans, while 37.7 per cent were in favor of keeping it in.
In 2020, a nine-hour public hearing was held on the same question.
Many people spoke for and against Melcor’s request. Environmental issues were raised about potentially having a future road intersecting a wooded area and trail and crossing Piper Creek if Molly Banister Drive was ever joined with 40th Avenue.
The likelihood of this would depend on traffic volumes in the city 30 years in future.
Two years ago, council ultimately resolved to keep the road allowance, in case it’s needed.
Melcor has now acted on its right to bring the matter back to council after a six-month waiting period.
City administration is again recommending the road extension and bridge be removed from city plans. This means the area south of Sunnybrook could be developed without holding space for this road.
More information can be found at www.reddeer.ca/mollybanister.