I was hoping that our new council would see the light and reject the plan to close Villeneuve Road as that move offends good planning.
This road has historically been the direct link between Villeneuve and St. Albert, and more recently the best and safest direct link from the Villeneuve Airport to the Sturgeon Community Hospital.
In the late 1990s, I sat on an intermunicipal planning committee with our Sturgeon County partners and we reached an agreement that the Villeneuve right-of-way would be preserved in perpetuity.
Many folks have bought homes on the south side of Villeneuve Road knowing that there was a long-term major roadway located in that area which is protected by good fencing, a berm and a fine growth of spruce trees. No one forced anyone to purchase a home there, and if the current plan to break up that roadway to please some developers goes ahead, then this plan will go down in history as one of the worst planning blunders in St. Albert history.
Bob Russell, St. Albert
