The Williamsville corridor has seen major changes in recent years with construction of a number of large-scale residential buildings, all part of a vision for redeveloping the area.
“We had, back in 2010, a secondary plan that had beautiful pictures of wide sidewalks and proposed three or four parkettes along this stretch,” says the district’s councillor, Jim Neill.
He says developers paid in lieu of parkland to increase their footprints for development, resulting in a loss of proposed parkettes from original plans.
Neill says the system has allowed intensification to rob his district of green spaces, something he wants changed.
“I think we definitely need to make sure that trees are replaced,” he says. “Not just with little saplings that will take 20 years to provide any shade, but actual larger trees being planted to replace what we lose.”
Residents of Wright Crescent in the Williamsville corridor Barbara Simard and Josephine Matyas say they have only recently learned of the city’s plan for intensification in their neighbourhood, where a number of new residential buildings are being proposed.
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“We have two community gardens, they’re not on the plan. We’ve recently lost a lot of trees,” says Simard.
“And green space,” says Matyas. “The lack of green space, recreational space, walking space.”
The residents say their frustration boils down to a lack of communication and feeling that they aren’t part of the decision-making process.
“Through their proposed intensification designation of this area, they (the city) are making it much more feasible for a developer to come in and try to build highrises, and it’s a much better return on their investment,” says Matyas.
And they say giving developers the option of including a parkette in their designs doesn’t go far enough to ensure there’s green space.
“A parkette is a very small, defined space with a couple of benches,” says Simard. “When we were growing up, and a lot of people in Kingston were growing up, community areas had playgrounds for children to play.”
A virtual meeting will be held with city officials on April 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for residents of the Wright Crescent community to voice their opinions and ask questions.
Meanwhile, Neill is asking the city to support opportunities to create green spaces on city-owned land along the Williamsville corridor, including grassy areas and planting more trees.
Neill’s motion will be brought forward at Tuesday’s Environment, Infrastructure and Transportation Policies Committee meeting.
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