This is regarding Sandra Hansen's comments about the residents opposed to the Arlington Drive Project.
It's laughable that you would think that the residents of Akinsdale are against low-income people. Akinsdale is not known for its 4,000-sq.-ft. houses with triple car garages. When I bought my home, Akinsdale was the only neighbourhood I could afford in St. Albert. My 1975 bungalow with a single car garage needs about $20,000 in repairs to keep it habitable. I'm talking needs here and not wants. It needs updated electrical, plumbing, windows and insulation.
I'm a single parent who does not receive regular child support. I make less than half of the median income in St. Albert. My neighbours are all working or retired people. Don't accuse us of being against low-income people.
What I am against is the thought that city council is being neglectful to the needs of the people who they want to buy these slums. Would you, as a mother, want your children to be playing in a three-foot drainage ditch that is four-feet outside your home? Would you not want a yard (they will have a four-foot patio) for your kids to play in? Or would you be satisfied with them playing in the parking lots?
How would you feel if your neighbour bought a 75-by-150 lot next door to you and built a house that was 70-by-145? Every square inch of this green space will be used for these buildings.
Keri McEachern, St. Albert
