By Jessica Lovell

Guelph Tribune

A small number of residents will have to change the way they get to and from their homes if the city goes forward with its proposed plan to reopen Silvercreek Parkway south of Paisley Road.
“I have lots of concerns, but one of the biggest ones is how we get into this little service road they’re going to make,” said Silvercreek resident Mike Madore.
Madore owns the last house on the dead-end section of Silvercreek, just before the road is blocked off at the railroad tracks. He was one of a handful of residents who came out to a special information meeting last Wednesday afternoon for people whose homes lie in the area between Silvercreek and the Hanlon, just south of Paisley Road.
A couple of his neighbours didn’t make it out for the meeting. The ones that were there didn’t get many answers to their concerns, said Madore.
Under the city’s plan, residents on the dead-end section of Silvercreek and on a dead-end side street Madore referred to as “Old Paisley” will keep their dead-end streets, but they will only be able to get in and out of those streets by making right turns.
“Technically, it’s not safe to allow a left turn there,” said the city’s manager of transportation planning and development engineering, Rajan Philips.
At a public information meeting at city hall later the same night, Philips explained the situation. Because the city’s plan is to bring Silvercreek down below the railroad tracks via an underpass, the road cannot simply be extended, he said.Instead, a service road will be created at the existing grade to give the homeowners access to their driveways. Parallel to that, but separated by a retaining wall, will be the new Silvercreek.
Currently, residents living on the two streets in the area only have the option of driving north on Silvercreek, but they can then go east or west at Paisley.
Under the new plan, they will only be able to go south on Silvercreek or east on Paisley.
“Everything is north and west of my place,” said Madore.
The city will take another look at the plans for the intersection, but ultimately, safety will have to come first. The proposed plan technically meet access requirements, Philips said.
“Technically, the access they have is somewhat changed, but we are providing access,” he said.
Besides the issue of access, Madore also expressed concerns about his property value, the noise and dust during construction, and the threat to the trees and gardens in his front yard as a result of the road moving closer to his house.
The city’s plan, which has been formulated in partnership with the developer of the former Lafarge quarry lands, largely focuses on a triangle of land between two sets of CN railroad tracks. On that part of the plan, the feedback has been generally positive, said Philips.
The plan includes the creation of a new road east of Silvercreek, with zoning to allow for mixed-use development, and green space in the triangle of land where the two sets of tracks meet.
“It’s the same plan we agreed to years ago,” said Tom Wood, a resident of the Howitt Park area.
The plan is the result of an Ontario Municipal Board-mediated deal between the Howitt Park Neighbourhood Residents’ Association, the city and Silvercreek Developments. It was approved by council in early 2009.
“It was the best thing we could come up with,” said Wood.
The residents’ association didn’t want to see the green space of the former quarry lands eaten up by big-box development that would bring increased traffic into their neighbourhood.
The current proposal is a compromise that allows for some big-box stores, a market square with some smaller retail and office space, and an area for residential use. The developer has given the city a park and a green-space area that will include storm-water management ponds as well as trails.
The Howitt Park area residents are concerned that as part of the environmental assessment for the project, a plan may develop to fence off the railroad tracks that surround the green space.
“It’s like a continuation of Howitt Park; you just have to cross the tracks, that’s all,” said Wood.
Because this green space connects with Howitt Park, a fence running through it would not please residents, he explained.
Other area residents are sad to see so much of the existing green space eaten up by development.
“I’ve walked my dogs there for 12 years,” said Mary-Kate Gilbertson. “I feel sad that any development is going to happen, but I think the city has done something to ensure it’s not just a big-box development.”
She and neighbour Devon Stanbury agreed that a big-box development is not something that the community needs. They hope to see the developer create something that would be more like a small version of downtown with small shops, like bakeries and cafes, and believe it could be profitable.
“The community would buy into something that’s for them,” said Stanbury.
Currently, it is not known what retailers might be part of the development.
“It hasn’t been nailed down yet what the actual tenants will be,” said city development planner Stacey Laughlin.
Still, if all goes well, work on the Silvercreek reconnect could start as early as September, said Philips. The rest of the development could start at the same time, he said.
“They will develop in phases. Phase one could start while we’re doing construction on the road,” he said.
The public has until Feb. 29 to provide feedback on the environmental assessment.