Developers of a proposed North Ridge expansion and some residents in the area are at odds over what should be done with Villeneuve Road.
More than a dozen North Ridge residents and interested spectators attended an open house Tuesday at the Best Western Inn in order to learn more about a proposal to develop roughly 25 acres of land just north of the North Ridge neighbourhood along Villeneuve and Range Road 255 (which becomes Hogan Road), up to the city’s boundary.
The main point of contention revolved around Villeneuve Road and its realignment to Fowler Way.
The city’s $51.1-million plan is to have Villeneuve stay open from St. Albert Trail to just west of Hogan Road then connect northward to Fowler via a roundabout. Villeneuve, which would be considered partially closed, would not be accessible via Ray Gibbon Drive.
This was all laid out in a functional alignment study of Fowler Way, which was released in August 2018 and follows work done previously in 2015.
Blaydon Dibben, a senior planner with Select Engineering Consultants (the firm hosting Tuesday’s meeting), said the developers were waiting for the 2018 study to be completed before drawing up their own plans.
“We’ve been waiting for that in order to create this plan, and now that the city has approved those plans we’re able to move forward,” he said. “Through the subdivision process, there’s conditions and one of those conditions could be to make improvements Villeneuve Road. It will be an urbanized road.”
Dibben stressed the development is at a very preliminary stage.
North Ridge residents Todd and Sherry Duliba, who have lived in the neighbourhood for more than four years, wanted to learn more about the project because of what it means for Villeneuve, especially since the couple’s home backs right onto the busy stretch of road.
“We were told they were closing it,” Todd said. “Now there’s a section of it going to be open. Looking at the map, they’ve extended it now again, putting residents in there. We’re just here to see exactly what’s going on."
Todd said the roads included in the proposed development cannot handle the volume of traffic a new subdivision would bring and mentioned in the span of four years, Villeneuve has seen an increase in the number of vehicles that use it.
The amount of traffic is so bad, Sherry said, they can’t sleep with the window open during the summertime.
Both stressed they have no issue with North Ridge expanding into that plot of land, but they felt more needs to be done to improve the roadway infrastructure.
Fellow North Ridge resident Darren Skaggs also wanted to see Villeneuve close because of the amount of traffic on it.
“If it closes, then I don’t have anybody driving behind my house,” he said. “Closing Villeneuve west of Hogan is what the original plan was. (The developers) are saying keep it open for the electrical substation and for the subdivision.”
Bill Muis, a resident of Sturgeon County, attended the meeting because he also wanted to know what the plans were for Villeneuve since the outcome could impact a church that’s being built along the stretch of road.
"I come into the city on Villeneuve Road and it is nice and straight," he said. "But if I have to jog north and then jog south, and then cut across again, it is going to make a difference."
He added going straight out along Villeneuve Road would be convenient for anyone coming to the planned church from St. Albert, but that could change if Villeneuve is partially closed or realigned.
Muis added he doesn’t consider this a major issue. He was mostly interested in the future development of the area.
While plenty of city staff attended the open house, no members of city council were able to go.
Coun. Wes Brodhead said he plans to read up on the development, especially given the implications to Villeneuve.
“My understanding is (Villeneuve) would be closed at Hogan and Hogan would sort of be the terminus of Villeneuve and it would bend up towards Fowler Way,” he said.
“That’s the last plan that I’ve seen. I’ll have to listen to their arguments and see what the planning guys from the city have to say.”
There are no additional open houses planned for the North Ridge expansion, but a public hearing will be scheduled once the proposal has gone before city council. If all goes according to plan, construction is scheduled to start in 2020.
