I am decidedly against any road being built through the quarter section in question for the following reasons:
1. It is, in my opinion, the most beautiful, pristine place in Red Deer, with fauna and flora.
2. I do not want traffic noise disturbing this delightful place.
3. Red Deer is known for its beautiful walking-bike paths, not only to tourists, but for all its residents. Please don’t ruin its reputation.
4. Nineteenth Street can surely be widened at less cost than building a new road.
5. The residential quarter to be developed will not nearly be as nicely divided into lots if a road runs through it.
6. Traffic brings noise, signs, billboards, strewn garbage. All are not needed.
7. The proposed bridge to the extension of approximately 200 to 250 feet across the Piper Creek ravine will, sad as it is, be an invitation to the homeless people taking refuge under it.
8. We, as humans, need the environment preserved. The environment doesn’t need us.
Jean M. Kline, Red Deer
Now’s the time for
residents to speak up
The letters to The Advocate, Dec. 13, 17, 19 and Jan. 3, plus the article on Garfield Marks’ change of heart/mind from protection to extension are very interesting and quite telling, including Marks’ turnaround.
He now favours a busy thoroughfare on the south side of Sunnybrook, his beautiful neighbourhood with the Bower woods bordering on the west, to be boxed in by busy traffic corridors, while the natural watercourse and parkland to the west is altered drastically.
Hmmm, that position seems a little counterproductive and ironic.
However, the letters of Don Wales (Dec. 13, Rod Trentham (Dec. 19) and Peggy Freeman (Jan. 3) speak eloquently and precisely on all that would be lost, versus the questionable benefits of a Molly Banister extension, a quagmire that has been discussed and decided upon numerous times over the past 25 years, the repeated decision being to put that option on the back burner.
Perhaps it’s time to take that pot of stew off the stove altogether.
Wales references the future of the integral green space being threatened by an extension to Molly Banister Drive. If the planners and member of city council, before making yet another decision, include the city they would want for their grandchildren and continuing generations, the result would surely be in favour of the area’s importance and threatened sustainability.
Trentham also points out the interconnectivity of Waskasoo Park and the species of animals whose welfare and habitat would be negatively altered, forever, if another major access route is constructed.
Freeman, in her letter, recognizes Melcor Development Ltd.’s thoughtful consideration of the detriments the extension would cause.
She also notes, all things considered, our traffic issues will never be so important they should take precedence over the protection of our treasured natural resources, ones we are so fortunate to have, use and enjoy.
People of Red Deer and area who deeply value Waskasoo Park and its natural corridors we all enjoy through all seasons, please make your position known to the City of Red Deer (www.redddeer.ca) before Jan. 17.
Pete Weddell, Red Deer
I thought we’d already
gone through this
I was one of the many citizens attending meetings and adding my opinion in the previous fights against extending Molly Banister Drive across Piper Creek.
Our views at that time were listened to and prior councils promised, I repeat, promised, that future generations would benefit from our protests and an extension would be taken off the planning table and not introduced in the future.
This was our goal. We succeeded.
It would have been utterly pointless to hold all those previous meetings if the city had no immediate plans to extend the road, were just testing the water for a future need, and felt future councils could simply ignore their decision.
What kind of message does that send for future petitioners?
How can councillors live with themselves if they feel they can appease any citizens who seek justice by making a significant pronouncement that is not worth the paper on which it is printed?
The whole point was to stop the city ever violating the creek corridor in the future. I, and many others, pressed the mayor, and the council, and the city managers on this specific point: “Are you removing from future consideration the extension of MB Drive across the creek?”
And the answer was, “Yes.”
As I stated earlier, it would have been meaningless, pointless, a waste of everybody’s time, and an insult to the democratic process if the city had said, “ Yes, for now, unless the city grows and we need it.”
Do you see?
All parties knew the city was going to grow and a need for more lanes of traffic going east-west in south Red Deer would arise. The agreement we reached, and the promise we had from the city, guaranteed that these lanes would be built somewhere else.
It is that simple.
People will need to go further south than they like, take bikes, accept slower commutes, leave earlier for work, buy houses nearer work, etc.
Life has some impossibilities and some tragedies but this, is not one of them.
Bryan Caddy, Red Deer
Keep unique heritage alive in Red Deer
Leave the park as is.
We live in the Brookside adult villas and our back deck looks out to the walking path and the pasture.
All summer, I see children feeding the cows and stopping to watch the wildlife. As I was walking one day, a lady stopped and asked me if I would take her picture with the cattle behind her.
She told me she was from Montreal and had to send the picture home as nobody would believe her when she said she was in the middle of the city and seeing cows grazing.
What a unique part of the Sunnybrook and Bower area. Let’s keep some of that heritage alive.
Daria Watkins, Red Deer