A proposal to allow highrises to surround London’s Victoria Park has hit another delay.
City councillors on the planning and environment committee voted to send the plan back to staff for further consideration on Monday.
The vote followed a public participation meeting at city hall aimed at gathering feedback on the proposal.
The proposal would allow the construction of highrises on either side of the downtown park, with buildings ranging from 16 to 35 storeys.
Some of the concerns about the plan centred on noise, while others worried about the shade the buildings would cast on the park.
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Daphne Allen, a Londoner who lives near Victoria Park, spoke of the aesthetic pleasure of the park as it is when discussing the view from her balcony.
“The sunset, the lights, the skaters. Everybody should have a view like that,” Allen told the committee.
Other residents worried the plan was representative of too much growth in too little time.
Londoner Marcus Coles expressed a similar sentiment by voicing concern over the potential for increased traffic flow into the downtown and surrounding residential areas.
“These streets are going to end up as not wide enough; you’re going to run into transit problems,” Coles said. “I don’t think this has really been fully addressed.”
Another Londoner, Rebecca Frankolini, argued increased traffic flow into the downtown area would be good for the city.
“I want more people downtown, I want more people in our core,” said Frankolini, who told the committee she lives in the Woodfield neighbourhood, which surrounds Victoria Park.
“I think that if we build these buildings with families in mind… I am so for this.”
Following an array of opinions expressed by Londoners, Monday’s meeting on the matter ultimately ended with committee members sending the plan back to city staff for further study.
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