To the Editor:
Re: Big change coming to Port Coquitlam neighbourhood with proposed subdivision
While this proposal on the south side of Victoria Drive has a number of significant hurdles to overcome, this article missed the glaring elephant with four wheels: Traffic.
Or more specifically, traffic on Wedgewood and Lynwood streets. The current proposal sees all 26 new homes and their secondary suites accessed from Lynwood Street, not Victoria Drive. This means a significant increase in vehicle traffic and a corresponding decrease in our families’ safety and our neighbourhood’s peace and quiet.
You would think that before dumping 100 extra cars into an existing neighbourhood, a traffic impact study would be conducted. Apparently not. Not only has the City of Port Coquitlam not requested (according to HY Engineering) a traffic study, but word is that moving the development’s entrance road to Victoria Drive is not an option.
And while the residents of Lynwood/Wedgewood puzzle over this decision, consider that in the last 15 years the City of Coquitlam has successfully approved and navigated the introduction of three new streets and a lane on the north side of this same stretch of Victoria. Traffic signals, parking lanes, cross walks, stop signs and road widening have all resulted.
Now the City of Port Coquitlam is being asked by a developer to consider a similar proposal for density, and Victoria Drive is suddenly off-limits to new roads? I don’t buy it. Time for city staff and council to take another look at the ‘shared’ part of Victoria Drive’s usage and design.
Matthew Pilfold
Port Coquitlam
