It's one thing to come up with a plan for densifying a traditional neighbourhood such as Coquitlam's Austin Heights and another thing entirely to bring it to fruition.
After months of dialogue, city council is signing off on a plan that would add 5,000 new residents to the pleasant neighbourhood and radically change it from a 1960s-era, car-driven suburb to a walkable urban community with new stores, pedestrian amenities and towers.
Will the transition be disruptive? Possibly. Depending on the economy, Austin Heights could be in a perpetual state of construction for the next two decades. There will definitely be an "ugly haircut" phase before the new residential and commercial development is in place. Residents can expect cranes, construction hoarding and empty storefronts before a bright and shiny new town centre is built.
Many other issues are likely to arise as each development proposal is put on the table and council knows all too well the limitations to growth and accommodations that must be made to avoid disaster.
For one thing, infrastructure and services, such as garbage, road improvements, fire services, transit and sewer must keep pace with or even precede development. New schools planned for Como Lake and Centennial secondary must consider at least some new enrolment (although the number of kids will be nowhere near the bump that occurred when the area was developed 50 years ago) and elementary schools must be nimble to adjust to a neighbourhood in transition.
The shopping corridor itself, which many say is due for a make-over, will take time to develop and council must do what it can to ensure the area doesn't become a flat, chain-store strip mall, even if that means making development - and, therefore, rents - affordable for independent, small business owners.
New development must also take into consideration those living in single-family homes who are uncomfortable with high-density towers being built in their backyards.
While the result may be a world-class, walkable neighbourhood with convenient stores, unique restaurants and a wide-range of affordable housing for people of all types, much work is needed to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.
