The City of Colwood is looking into a possible extension of Mary Anne Crescent in response to a petition signed by more than 50 residents.
The petition – totalling 55 signatures, largely from residents of nearby Delora Drive – was presented to council Monday (Aug. 28) by residents Brent Fischbach and John Briggs and drew universally receptive responses from council.
This led to a unanimous endorsement of a motion to direct staff to investigate extending Mary Anne Crescent so it connects to Veterans Memorial Parkway, as well as studying traffic and road layouts in the area and report back to council and the soon-to-be active Transportation Committee with the findings.
Presenting to council, Fischbach said the petition asking the city to extend the road by roughly 56 metres comes out of a concern for potential traffic woes stemming from an upcoming subdivision and apartment building if they are not provided with a second access and connecting road.
“It’s quite clear from the conversations John and I have had that residents on Delora Drive are quite passionate about this issue,” Fischbach said.
He said that in the residents’ view, extending the road would significantly shorten the route to and from the new developments by around one kilometre. He said this will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve emergency vehicle access to the new developments by providing a second entry and exit point, and improve access to the development sites for large construction vehicles using Delora as the only existing access road and damaging it as it is not large enough.
Council discussion showed strong support for the request given the age of the neighbourhood’s traffic infrastructure, with several councillors noting they live in the general area, but noted it would be the responsible move to have the experts on staff weigh in before a decision to order a road extension is made.
Coun. Cynthia Day further suggested an amendment to the motion, made by Coun. Dean Jantzen, that the staff report also go through the transportation committee to ensure a thorough consultation with the wider community before any changes are voted on to ensure the city would not simply be moving problems from one area to another, which was incorporated into the final direction to staff.