By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

one step closer to knowing

Council sends removal of Molly Banister Drive extension plans to public hearing

Sep 14, 2020 | 10:03 PM

The long-debated future of Molly Banister Drive is a step closer to finally being decided upon.

Red Deer city council passed first reading on Monday for a bylaw amendment that would remove the extension of the busy south end road from city planning documents, as recommended by administration.

There will now be a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Oct. 26, tentatively slated to be held virtually on the City’s website.

Admin cited Red Deer’s “unparalleled” parks system, which in the Piper Creek area in question is home to at least 44 avian species, 24 mammal species, and various other inhabitants including fish.

“I want to thank the citizens who’ve participated and responded to council. Your voices are important. This public hearing is an important opportunity to continue to let the voices who want to reiterate and those who haven’t yet let council know, speak,” said Councillor Dianne Wyntjes.

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“Council will have fans and foes, cheers and jeers, and that’s because we have two very distinct perspectives. There are those who want access and traffic movement to their destination, and others who recognize the environment impact on habitats, green spaces and parks. I look forward to the voices of our community assisting council in making this decision, for a footprint in our community or not a footprint.”

Councillor Tanya Handley wanted to see the second option – in which Molly Banister Drive would be extended diagonally to connect to 40 Avenue at 22 Street – go to public hearing.

“I feel it’s a better option because retaining that Piper Creek crossing as a collector road is a lot less impactful than the four-lane arterial that has been considered to date. We also heard it would be an additional access for emergency vehicles,” she explained. “I’m very concerned about adding an entire new subdivision that empties onto 40 Avenue. I also like the bridge it offers to span the creek. Option two offers a good balance between the two most concerning topics we heard about, traffic flow and environment. I think it’s a really creative solution.”

Option one was supported on first reading by a 5-3 vote, with councillors Handley, Buck Buchanan and Frank Wong dissenting. Option two is off the table, for now.

Planning and Developmental Services General Manager Tara Lodewyk says when council makes up its mind either way, it’ll finally give certainty to residents and the developer after what has been a 50-year saga over the what to do with Molly Banister Drive.

“The difference this time is that we have a developer who is asking for this decision so he can proceed with an Area Structure Plan and then to development within a year,” she explained. “He will be designing his neighbourhood based on that extension being taken out, so that includes where he places homes, puts his roadways, access points, and parks. Taking the alignment out will make it very difficult, if not impossible, to put it back in the future.”

Following public hearing, council has the option to approve option one as-is, amend option one to include some aspects of option two, or return to option two entirely, though that would require another public hearing. Lodewyk notes that without doing so, the language may not be as thorough when it comes to addressing environmental impacts.

A motion by Councillor Lawrence Lee to have administration report on the logistics for a plebiscite on the issue was defeated 7-2, but he did provide reasoning for the idea.

“It’s not that I don’t have confidence in what the (public) comments have been. But the challenge is, one, the close numbers from the survey, and two, given the fact that this issue, much like when council talked about fluoride, impacts all of Red Deer, not just neighbouring divisions,” he said. “In order to get a fair assessment, and with the current surveys not being statistically reliable where people could use different IP addresses or multiple devices, Red Deerians deserve an actual say in how this will impact the future of our parks system and arterial traffic flows.”

Councillor Vesna Higham rebutted, stating that’s what municipal elections are for, and that council has been entrusted to make these kinds of decisions.

Others noted that the public hearing will be sufficient to give the community their chance to speak.

Administration was not ready to say Monday how much a plebiscite would have cost, though Lee’s thought was that it would be minimal to add to the municipal ballot next year.

Red Deerians can now contact the City to provide input, and to learn how to take part in the Oct. 26 public hearing. More information is at RedDeer.ca/mollybanister.

Mayor Tara Veer recused herself from debate on this matter, citing a potential pecuniary conflict of interest.

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