A road closure on Linley Road resulted in a sizable and vocal protest Thursday morning.
Nearly 50 Nanaimoites gathered along Hammond Bay Road, protesting the permanent closure of a 30-metre stretch of Linley Road that connects onto Hammond Bay. The closure is due to a new residential subdivision at 105 Linley Rd.
According to the development permit available on the City of Nanaimo’s website, the subdivision will see result in the construction of anywhere from 66 to 84 homes on 5.55 hectares of land between Linley Road and Glen Oaks Drive.
The permit also gives the developers, Linley Road Developments Ltd., permission to remove the Linley Road and Hammond Bay intersection, forcing motorists to travel down Miller Farm Road and onto Nottingham Drive in order to reach Hammond Bay.
Bonita McKay, a nearby resident who was out protesting, said the road has been closed since Wednesday and was done without any public consultation, adding that the removal of the Linley Road access point is a mistake that will have profound consequences for the neighbourhood.
“This is not right,” she said. “This is imposing danger, safety issues and fire hazard issues.”
Good morning. I'm here at Linley Road where residents are protesting the its closure. pic.twitter.com/9dbchy9w3D
— Nicholas M Pescod (@npescod) July 6, 2017
McKay said children and families walk and play on Miller Farm Road and at the nearby Cottle Creek Park. She by closing the access point, heavy construction equipment and eventually hundreds of cars will now be forced to drive through a residential area filled with children.
“The biggest concern is that every piece of equipment that has to do with the construction to build the 75 homes … has to come down Miller Farm Road and that is a huge concern,” she said.
Ron and Nicole Plug, residents of Miller Farm Road, said there was no communication from the developer or the city about the closure of Linley Road. They both expressed concerns about the increased traffic that would result from the closure.
“With all the traffic that this might generate, we are totally against this thing,” Nicole said. “Miller Farm Road was not built to handle that much traffic.”
Steve Crabb, a resident who lives a street over from Miller Farm Road, said it isn’t the development that is the issue for most residents, but the fact that more cars will be travelling along a road that was never designed to handle high traffic volumes. He said the closure of Linley Road will not only impact those who live in the neighbourhood, but many others as well.
“I am very concerned about the safety and quality of life of residents and visitors to this neighborhood,” he said. “People who access Linley Valley are going to be affected, people who use that playground and certainly the people that live here.”
Dale Lindsay, the city’s director of community development, said he has heard the concerns from residents in the Linley Road neighbourhood. He said city staff are currently examining options to keep the road open and will be meeting with members of the Stephenson Point Neighbourhood Association on Friday.
“The original plan was to have Linley closed off and have that traffic directed through the community to an intersection where Nottingham Road meets Hammond Bay Road, but at this point staff are looking alternatives in order to keep Linley Road open,” he said. “We are evaluating those right now and we will be keeping the neighbourhood up to date.”
Lindsay said the developers have been excellent in working with the city and are keen to address the concerns of the neighbourhood.
“In this case, the developer has been responding to what the city had been requesting and the developer has been very good in our recent discussions with them and they also want to respond to the neighbourhood concerns,” he said.
nicholas.pescod@nanaimobulletin.com