Conservationists oppose proposed new road through Wascana Conservation Park
CBC
The City of Regina's proposal to build a roadway through the McKell Wascana Conservation Park should be discarded, local conservationists say.
The proposed road would connect the Wascana Parkway south of the University of Regina to Prince of Wales Drive just north of the Wascana Country Club.
The goal would be to ease the traffic pressure on Arcola Avenue, which has become increasingly congested as the city’s southeastern neighbourhoods have grown.
The proposal has alarmed Ducks Unlimited Canada, which manages the conservation easement over the area. The easement prevents most forms of development on the land.
“What is the plan, and are there other alternatives that would avoid having to go through a very precious natural area inside the city?” asked Michael Champion, the organization’s regional manager of industry and government relations.
There are mechanisms to allow for development within the easement, but it would be costly to developers and damage the ecosystem, Champion said.
“We've got increased wildlife collisions, the dissection of an already fragile ecosystem which causes a loss of ecosystem services to some degree, and then a modification of the hydrology which will cause a further loss of ecosystem services."
The conservation area covers 171 acres, centred primarily along Wascana Creek.
The Wascana View Action Committee, which also opposes the new road, sent a letter to city council and the mayor outlining its concerns.
In addition to ecological damage, it said the $300,000 price tag for the city’s study of the issue is too expensive in light of recent budget constraints. It could also cause floodplain issues and public safety concerns from the increased traffic, the group said.
Group member Jack Huntington said he acknowledges the traffic concerns raised by the city and he isn’t opposed to all development. He suggested the city should add lanes to Arcola Avenue instead.
“It's an east-west problem, not a north-south problem,” Huntington said.
The city has no legal basis to proceed with the project since the easement is controlled by Ducks Unlimited Canada, he added.
Ward 4 city councillor Mark Burton rejected the idea that more lanes on Arcola would do the job.
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