Residents in Cambridge were given the opportunity to make their thoughts known at a recent public delegation meeting, all around a few projects that could have quite the impact in the coming months.
Those plans included a new 40-storey apartment tower at the former site of the Argyle Arms Pub, a new transit-focused plan for Preston’s Town Centre through King Street East, as well as a similar proposal for Hespeler Road.
While the plans for Hespeler were pushed back to another future meeting, due to the lengthy discussions seen at the recent delegation, there were plenty of opinions raised to councillors around what would be the city’s tallest building and the town centre’s future.
Among those in attendance were a list of local residents, developers, consultants, and more, with those delegates and councillors alike getting plenty of words in on the listed proposals.
The talks began with discussions around the new 40-storey development slated for King Street East in Preston, where delegates were quick to oppose the would-be development.
“It’s far too dense for the site, it’s far too dense for the geographical location,” said Carol Thorman, who lives in the area.
“That’s the problem with one-size-fits-all planning regulations; They don’t always fit.”
Thorman wasn’t alone in those concerns, with John McNie, another local resident, saying there are multiple issues that are combining into one larger problem.
“This proposal impractically seeks to shoehorn 1,000-plus residents contained in a single towering building,” mentioned McNie.
He went on to say the project would be located on a “tiny footprint in a community of significantly fewer residents, living in single-family detached dwellings.”
Much of the total pushback combined amongst the list of delegates centred around the raised potential for parking and traffic issues throughout the stretch, which already sees plenty of congestion in a key part of Preston.
It wasn’t just delegates who raised those potential traffic and parking issues, with Councillor Mike Devine pushing back against the project as well.
“I don’t know how people are going to get around Preston, I really don’t,” Devine stated.
“We need to get the region or the province in there to do a proper traffic flow study. You might as well come down there with a horse and buggy, because that’s how quick you’re going to be going.”
It all comes as the developer is hoping to amend a zoning bylaw for both the lot and the official community plan, needing it to allow the construction of a building as tall as 40 storeys, which exceeds current limits.
If allowed, the build would bring as many as 475 residential units, alongside some added commercial space to King Street East.
While many delegates were in attendance to speak out against the building, others also made their way to Cambridge City Hall to oppose a transit-focused plan for Preston’s town centre.
“It’s not a plan for Preston, or the people of Preston, it’s a plan for how to accommodate transit,” said Cambridge resident Gregory Lang, who said the focus of the city should be on its residents, not a still-in-development plan for the ION light rail service.
He went into detail on the perfect storm that the city is potentially creating, mixing high-density apartment buildings with a heavily transit-focused mindset from the local council.
“It’s being forced upon us, and there is no guarantee that ION Stage 2 will be built,” Lang stated.
“The business case has not been made for it. Right now, on the back of a napkin, there is no business case, there’s not even a business case to have a business case done for it.”
Decisions will ultimately be made around both projects at a later council meeting, with another public delegation meeting surrounding similar transit-focused plans along Hespeler Road set for Tuesday, May 12.
Comments