Moncton Approves Plan to Build 99-Unit Residential Development in the North End
MONCTON – CG Group‘s plan to build a 99-unit home development passed the public hearing phase at City Council Monday despite concerns about privacy and traffic congestions.
Philip Couture of PVC Homes, who represented CG Group, said construction will begin soon. They will start with the private extension of Silver Shale Way that connects it to Lady Russell Street.
“It went through right now, so we will build the street this summer and go ahead from there,” he said. “We’re hoping to finish in 2020/2021.”
Couture had applied to rezone around eight acres of land, turning a two-unit dwelling zone to a multiple-unit dwelling.
This will allow the construction of a mixed density residential development with a 51-unit building and seven townhouses with 48 units. Two commercial spaces are planned for the 51-unit building.
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It remains unclear whether the units in the building will become condominiums or apartments for rent or a mix of both. But city developer Bill Budd said he believes the landowners plan for the units to be rental apartments.
As part of the development, Silver Shale Way will be extended to connect with Lady Russell Street, connecting two neighbourhoods.
The development is among many taking place in Moncton’s rapidly growing north end. Andre Rioux, who lives on Lady Russell Street, is concerned that so many new developments are being planned in the area in a short period of time.
“Within the past three, four months, we’ve been feeling that we’re being surrounded by multi-use buildings. So that’s a big concern for us, especially that we’re considering the walker area for the school, with all that extra traffic, it’s worse for the kids,” he said to the council.
In an interview with media after his presentation, he said he feels his concerns were listened to, but many things need to be thought through. He’s most worried about traffic and privacy for residents.
“I’m not taking any position on the project, whether it’s good or bad. It’s just that, it’s gonna be causing quite an impact. We just wanna make sure that everything is safe and taken into consideration for the future for traffic studies and the amount of circulation,” he said.
Bill Budd, the City of Moncton’s Director of Urban Planning, said a traffic study had been submitted by the developer. It showed that the increased volume of traffic is expected to be small and have an “acceptable level of impact,” he said.
Alcide Richard, director of design and construction at the city, said the traffic increase will be as anticipated. But Rioux’s concerns about crosswalks and the safety of crossing for children going to school nearby are still something to look at.
“We’re not saying there’s no impact, but we’re saying the impact is going to be manageable on what we have for a street and it’s not something that forces us to build turn lanes and that kind of stuff,” he said. “We react on things that we hear. So if it’s a concern we can bring it forward.”
Councillor Paul Pellerin questioned why the engineering team isn’t more proactive when dealing with traffic. He is concerned about the general congestion on the way to the north end. Councillor Charles Leger agreed that the city needs to take a better look at future traffic patterns.
Richard said it’s difficult to predict where development will take place next.
“It’s hard to see how quickly an area will build and if we overbuild it, then we have speed issues going through neighbourhoods,” he said to Pellerin. “Well as the city grows, councillor, congested areas are going to get more congested.”
Some privacy concerns also remain. They stem from the height of the 51-unit building, which may allow residents a view to their neighbours’ backyards. A two-metre fence wooden fence is planned on the property to tackle this issue, while trees will help provide privacy.
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