They bought homes with the idea that a partial road closure was practically a done deal.
Todd Duliba is a resident who lives on Nault Crescent, a street in North Ridge where several homes back right onto Villeneuve Road.
He, like several other residents on the same crescent, bought a new home there with the understanding that a portion of Villeneuve Road would be closed down in the next couple of years.
Duliba wasn’t told that it was a 100-per-cent sure thing that the busy thoroughfare would be re-routed onto the planned Fowler Way, an arterial that would connect Ray Gibbon Drive to St. Albert Trail.
But if it wasn’t 100 per cent, it was close. The plan had been to turn the busy area behind their house into a greenbelt, he said.
In the meantime, he gets to listen to the traffic whiz by.
“It’s non-stop,” he said, noting the heavy truck traffic in particular.
Amanda Morrison is also concerned about the noise from the truck traffic. Like Duliba, her home backs onto Villeneuve Road, and she also moved there with the understanding that portion of the road would be shut.
“It’s definitely been a concern of ours.”
Both said if the city decides to keep Villeneuve open, they might consider moving.
Mike Froese bought his house in October 2013. At that time, he was led to believe that the road would close, he said. He fears that Villeneuve Road will become even busier and noisier once Ray Gibbon Drive is twinned.
“I filed probably a dozen reports for noise complaints and speeding complaints,” he said. “Especially engine retarder brakes from the truckers and in the summer it’s the Harley Davidsons, the loud motorbikes. And guys race down there.”
Many neighbours also complained about the banging of the trucks driving back and forth to the snow dump across the street. When Darren Skaggs bought his home, he was told that closure of the road was under consideration but not definite.
He would prefer if the road closed but understands that medevac services may need the fast route from nearby Villeneuve airport to the Sturgeon Community Hospital. “My wife can’t sleep at night because of the engine retarder brakes,” he said.
When St. Albert’s 2009 transportation master plan was released, it contained a proposal to shut Villeneuve Road just a bit east of where Ray Gibbon Drive would intersect with the road to Dennison Drive.
However, there have been concerns raised about that plan. In fall 2013, residents were notified that the proposed bylaw amendments that would have shut that portion of the road were on hold.
City staff are currently working on an updated transportation master plan, but the Villeneuve Road issue has drawn enough attention to warrant its own open house, which is scheduled for Feb. 26 at St. Albert Alliance Church from 4 to 8 p.m.
Dean Schick, transportation manager for the City of St. Albert, said the information at the open house will propose a few different scenarios aimed to get feedback from the public.
The city wants to get input about road usage, concerns and their expectations for Villeneuve, he said.
For those who can’t attend the open house, the information will be posted online on Feb. 24.
“Public input is critical,” Schick said. A report to council will be available this spring.
Some of the criticism about the proposed road closure came from the local chamber of commerce, which remains strongly opposed to the proposed changes.
The chamber fears the changes will compromise access to the city for medevac services from Villeneuve airport, and tamper with economic growth, said CEO and president Lynda Moffat.
“If Villeneuve airport showed up there today, I think the best move the city could ever do is to build a road like Villeneuve Road,” she said. “And here we are, we already have it there, and they are talking about closing it down.”
Villeneuve airport is now an alternative medevac landing site thanks to the quick access that Villeneuve Road provides to the Sturgeon Community Hospital.
That also allowed the airport to get a runway extension and an upgraded landing system, which makes St. Albert an attractive destination for new businesses, said Moffat.
In a previous interview with the Gazette, Moffat feared the potential realignment will lengthen the time emergency vehicles take to get to the hospital. Airport authorities may take away the designation entirely then, she said. This would hinder business growth at the airport.
But realigning the road may also keep businesses from coming and investing in St. Albert, she said.
However, Kerry Williamson, a spokesman for Alberta Health Services, said in an email they’ve only had one diversion from the Edmonton International Airport to Villeneuve.
It was in April 2014, when a patient being flown from Grande Prairie destined for Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital ended up landing in Villeneuve.
Jensen Lakes is one of the developments planned for the northwest that could be impacted by any change to the plan to close part of Villeneuve Road. The developer is waiting to see what happens before proceeding with a part of that development.
Susan Monson, regional manager for Melcor, said the Jensen Lakes project can move forward no matter what happens with Villeneuve Road, which is to the south of the planned development.
Melcor’s current plans for Jensen Lakes includes Fowler Way. The arterial roadway is planned to connect at the intersection of Ray Gibbon Drive and Villeneuve Road and cross through the neighbourhood.
Monson said Melcor put planning for a section of the development on hold in anticipation of the city’s decision about the roadways’ futures. She stressed that timing is important in planning the development.
“At this point we can probably move forward with our first couple of stages without being impacted,” she said. “But we won’t be able to go much beyond that without at least knowing the future.”
Based on the city’s information, the developer assumed that Villeneuve Road will be open from St. Albert Trail to Dennison Drive, she said. But they could go “either way.”
“If it’s open we can continue our development as is and if it’s closed we can work with that as well,” she said, adding that the developer is not in favour of a “hybrid solution” of keeping Villeneuve Road completely open but also building Fowler Way.
