What happened to caring for your neighbours?
I suggest for those who find it necessary to write letters condemning the people of Akinsdale and find it a must that their opinion of what should be built in someone else's neighbourhood should be published, take a step back and realize your own intent. Each resident of St. Albert should take out their city map, locate your home on the map and truly look at your city. Look at the location of schools, soccer fields, churches, green space.
Now in your own neighbourhoods start putting big black Xs on top of the areas of this type that you would like to sacrifice in the name of low-income housing. Whether we choose to admit it or not the development in Akinsdale will be precedent-setting. Decisions to build are a lot more permanent than any council will be. Now with our maps out, X out the green areas of Akinsdale that border road development, X out the green area where the infamous housing project is planned. You will now see what is left of Akinsdale — one school on one field that is also the lone soccer field.
Now look at your maps and look what surrounds this lone green space but a huge area of multi-family housing and rental properties, several of which can't even be sold. Perhaps now we can have some compassion for the people of Akinsdale holding onto what little they have left. The people of Akinsdale have already been subjected to a case of shock control — profess the worst-case scenario in an attempt to have people submit to a lesser too-great injustice. What happened to the knowledge that Habitat for Humanity has never built a development of this size even in Edmonton? What happened to the information that a builder that cannot make a quick profit may not be interested in contributing in the name of humanity? Why do we have a CEO of Habitat expecting to add onto the 34 units down the road? Why are there for-sale signs popping up in Akinsdale? Why is council so set on the Akinsdale location? Why do we not just build the school as intended? Why do we not take advantage of government green incentives rather than depending on fly-by-night builders?
Why do we not band together as a City of St. Albert that can find solutions for housing without destroying anything beautiful and good in the process?
Shelley Biermanski, St. Albert
