Paradise residents showed outraged at a public consultation meeting Tuesday night about the Clearview Heights road widening and Topsail Road-McNamara Drive roundabout construction.
The small meeting room at Paradise Double Ice Complex was full, with roughly 65 people there to hear from Robin King, an engineer with Harbourside Transportation Consultants (HTC), contracted by Paradise to provide options to deal with traffic control and road improvements in the area.
The proposed changes provided to the town by HTC include widening Clearview Heights from the current 6.5 metres to nine metres from curb to curb, as well as installing a new storm sewer system, installing sidewalks, and completing water and sanitary sewer upgrades in the process. In addition, a roundabout will be installed at the intersection of Clearview Heights, McNamara Drive and Topsail Road.
In HTC’s report, the consultants recommended installing the roundabout instead of adding another left-turning lane at the intersection to ease traffic woes, noting the roundabout would be safer, more efficient and cheaper in the long run, despite having higher upfront costs.
By the end of the meeting, only one person, Chan Wiseman, walked up to the mike to speak favourably of the project, though he admitted residents had valid concerns.
Those concerns were plentiful.
They included worries of increased traffic in residential neighbourhoods resulting from turning Clearview Heights into a collector road, to concerns about pedestrian safety with the roundabout.
Some residents also took issue with higher upfront costs — during a time of government fiscal constraint — to install a roundabout for an estimated $1.6 million compared to using traffic lights with an extra turning lane for $500,000.
The total cost is estimated to be slightly more than $4 million.
However, several residents said they were most concerned that they weren’t given sufficient opportunities to provide input before council agreed to the recommendation.
Midway through the meeting, former mayor and outspoken critic of the project Fred Brown asked, “Is this a done deal? Or are there going to be more meetings?”
King said council has approved the project and he estimated it would begin in July, but noted the roundabout portion of the construction could potentially begin earlier than that.
“Can this be stopped?” Brown asked.
“There’s more than Clearview Heights that’s involved – it’s the whole town.”
Paradise resident Neil Kelly called the project “just another screw-up by the town.”
But King said considering this is a “retrofit situation… you’re seeing an optimal solution.”
He added while he suspects there will be an increase in traffic on Clearview Heights, he said there are traffic calming measures the town could take, and said he didn’t expect traffic volumes to be “overwhelming.”
Greg Miller said he is one of the original residents of Clearview Heights and now fears it “will have just as much traffic as Topsail Road.”
Brown said residents ought to be given better opportunities to speak directly to town council about their concerns and insisted that the whole town should be given a chance to put forth their concerns before council moves forward.
Several residents at the meeting asked why they had to air their grievances to an engineer contracted by the town when he can only speak to the technical aspects of the project – not make decisions for the town.
While Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Laurie was present at the public consultation, she did not stand up during the question and answer period with King to address citizens’ concerns.
King said people would have an opportunity to speak one-on-one with him and town employees, such as town manager of engineering services Tracey-Lynn Goosney, after the meeting concluded.
Speaking with The Telegram after the meeting, Laurie said council will discuss the residents’ concerns and make further decisions during the next council meeting Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Twitter: juanitamercer_
