Talk of extending Molly Banister Drive beyond Barrett Drive has gone on for decades.(rdnewsNOW/Troy Gillard)

By Troy Gillard

SURVEY OPEN UNTIL MONDAY

Residents discuss future of Molly Banister Drive

Jan 8, 2020 | 4:54 PM

Organizers say about 100 people came out Tuesday night for an information session at the Bower-Kin Community Centre regarding the future of Molly Banister Drive.

Representatives from Melcor Developments Ltd. and The City of Red Deer were there to answer questions.

Melcor is planning a development for the piece of land between Barrett Drive and 40 Avenue and wants to know whether Molly Banister Drive will eventually be extended to connect to 22 Street. Melcor is against extending the road because it would be difficult to work around and would have a significant environmental impact on Piper Creek.

An extension of Molly Bannister Drive is not in the city’s 10-year Capital Plan, but it is included in the development and structural plans for the area. Scrapping the idea altogether requires changes to both plans and Melcor is seeking clarity as they begin planning the development.

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According to Denis Huot with the Bower Community Association, most residents who attended last night were from the Bower neighbourhood and for the most part were against expanding the roadway.

Huot says the info session was productive and positive.

“The meeting was courteous and respectful and I think the city planners were able to gauge that among those who were present that most people were against a Molly Banister extension,” he said.

“I was pleased with it. I think it was in line with what our expectations were,” Melcor’s Guy Pelletier said of the info session.

“The Bower community is one of the most impacted by the discussion around Molly Banister Drive alignment. And a lot of those folks have been going through this discussion for more than two decades. So there was a lot of concern about it and a pretty unanimous feeling in the room that they support the amendment we’ve put forward (to eliminate roadway extension).”

Tuesday’s session also dealt with confusion over the City of Red Deer’s survey question regarding Molly Banister Drive.

“The survey question in the mail-out was somewhat ambiguous. If you were actually against the road extension, you had to vote ‘yes’ approving Melcor’s application,” he pointed out.

“The city planners, to be fair, did indicate they were looking at not only the question responses, but also the comments to make sure that if a person is in opposition to the extension they’d disregard that vote and take the comments (into consideration) instead.”

An online survey regarding the future of Molly Banister Drive is available through Jan. 13.

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