With so much change planned for their neighbourhood and the surrounding area, the Cadboro Bay Residents’ Association is asking Saanich council to put a pair of University of Victoria building projects on hold.
Elizabeth Borek, president of the residents’ association, says the university’s plans for the new Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (complete with a proposed 505-stall parkade) and upgrades to the Queenswood property on Arbutus Road should be better explained to residents before moving ahead.
“(The neighbourhood association asks) Saanich council to have the university conduct a comprehensive consultation process on all their near-future plans that affect our community,” Borek wrote in an emailed statement.
At an open house last month, Neil Connelly, UVic’s director of campus planning and sustainability said separate traffic impact assessments have been done for the sports centre and Queenswood expansion. He acknowledged, however, that neither assessment takes into account the other planned project on the go for UVic.
In August, Saanich council denied approval of rezoning and parking variances for the sports centre, but a rejigged application was expected to come before council last night.
Changes to UVic’s application include minimizing visual impact with more trees and by adding artistic features to the six-storey, concrete parkade facade. As well, changes are proposed to deal with traffic flow by rerouting traffic from another parking lot away from McKenzie Avenue.
Visit saanichnews.com or check out Friday’s paper to read about Tuesday night’s council application.
kslavin@saanichnews.com