By Spencer Sterritt

Concerned neighbours protest Linley Rd. closing as part of subdivision development

Jul 6, 2017 | 4:51 PM

NANAIMO — A permanent road closure as part of the development on the eastern edge of the Linley Valley has neighbourhood residents up in arms.

Roughly 40 residents of the Linley Rd. area held signs at the current closed off intersection of Linley and Hammond Bay Rd. on Thursday morning. They opposed the road closure and how traffic coming into the area will be rerouted along smaller residential streets. 

“All of the (traffic) would have to go down a road that’s right now only 15 feet wide,” protester Bonita McKay said of Miller Farm Rd., which will become the connector from Hammond Bay Rd. to new houses.

“It’s a very small residential street and it wasn’t designed to be a collector street for traffic.”

Linley Rd. was closed to minimize accidents coming in and out of the area since it’s positioned at a bend in Hammond Bay Rd. The Nottingham Dr. entrance is considered safer. 

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McKay said protesters and members of the Stephenson Point Neighbourhood Association aren’t against housing development in the area, they just want to see it done properly after communication with concerned residents.

“We want to make sure the solution is favourable for the entire neighbourhood,” McKay said. “Not only is it the neighbourhood, it’s everyone who goes for a walk in the park or uses the playground on Miller Farm Dr. For safety issues, (this) is absolutely not feasible.”

According to the City, 66 lots will be in the developed subdivision, including single family units and duplexes. The property has been cleared and site prep is underway. The City emphasized this construction is separate from other development in Linley Valley and won’t connect to subdivisions on the North and West side.

Dale Lindsay, director of community development, met with protesters Thursday morning and listened to their concerns.

“We think there’s some potential solutions but we need to work through those technical details before we’re able to say for sure,” he told NanaimoNewsNOW.

He said there’s “good lessons” to be learned about how to communicate with neighbourhood groups and in this instance “we didn’t follow through on our normal procedures as well as we should have.”

A meeting is scheduled Friday between Lindsay and members of the neighbourhood association.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit