April 29th Update on Opposition

We would like to provide an update to all supporters of the petition regarding the proposed apartment development in our neighbourhood.

There was a strong and positive showing of community support at the April 13th City Council meeting, both in person and via remote attendance. Many residents took the opportunity to clearly and respectfully communicate their concerns directly to Council members, and we believe our collective message was well received. A representative from CJDL Engineering, acting on behalf of Doug Tarry Ltd., was also present at the meeting.

Prior to the April 13th meeting, several affected neighbours had also communicated their concerns directly to City Council through individual emails sent to all members of Council, outlining personal and neighbourhood-specific concerns regarding the proposed development and its potential impacts.

In addition, an official comprehensive appeal has now been submitted via email to City Council, outlining the key reasons why we do not support the proposed apartment building in its current form. We have also formally requested an update from Council regarding any decisions made to date, as well as any potential amendments or revisions being considered in partnership with Doug Tarry Ltd.

We continue to encourage all petition supporters to directly contact their City Council representatives and share their individual concerns regarding this project. As registered voters and engaged community members, your perspectives deserve to be heard and meaningfully considered in the decision-making process.

A key concern raised by residents relates to the traffic studies provided in support of the application. The initial traffic analysis was completed in January 2020, during the COVID-19 period, when traffic patterns were significantly reduced and not representative of normal conditions. A second analysis completed in December 2023 was also conducted during a winter month, which again does not accurately reflect typical seasonal traffic flows. In both reports, motorcycles and bicycles were reported as zero, and pedestrian activity were recorded as 2 to 3 range.  This is extremely flawed and not reflective at all of the lived reality along Elm Street, Centennial Road and the Harvest Run community.

This concern is heightened by past safety incidents in our community, including a serious collision involving a local motorcyclist in 2022 at Coulter and Elm Street, which resulted in a fatality. Residents feel strongly that traffic and safety assessments should fully reflect real-world conditions in all seasons and modes of transportation to ensure appropriate planning and public safety considerations.

We remain committed to respectful dialogue, transparency, and ensuring that community concerns are properly considered as this process continues.  Please continue to share our petition!  Here is a list of the city councillors.  Please note we also met in person privately with Councillor Steve Wookey about this opposition.  

gclarke@stthomas.ca

rgibson@stthomas.ca  

jherbert@stthomas.ca

jkohler@stthomas.ca

jrymal@stthomas.ca

etaylor@stthomas.ca   

swookey@stthomas.ca   

lbaldwin-sands@stthomas.ca