Whistle Bend residents in Whitehorse concerned about proposed housing development in area
CBC
Some residents in Whitehorse's Whistle Bend neighbourhood are speaking out against some of the city's plans for new housing in the area.
The city is looking to prepare a 12-hectare parcel of land for residential development. The area, alongside Whistle Bend Way and Mountainview Drive, could support 85 homes, according to the city.
Remy Rodden has been living in Whistle Bend since 2014. He says he and his neighbours like to walk their dogs or bike on the network of trails inside of the proposed project area.
He's concerned about the proposed development.
“There's a lot of compelling reasons why this is not a good place even to build homes, let alone the effects on wildlife,” said Rodden.
Rodden says along with taking away access to recreation, he’s concerned that traffic on the already busy roadways will increase during construction and after the new homes are built. He's also concerned about the ecological effects.
“Basically it's downflow into McIntyre Creek, so even [in] Whistle Bend, there's been lots of complaints about the construction garbage flying around and the amount of rust and so on that would certainly be exacerbated by any development there,” he said.
Erika Marzinotto, another Whistle Bend resident, says she was "blown away" by the local trail system when she first moved to the neighbourhood.
“The idea that part of it would be razed and destroyed and built on really caught my attention,” she said.
Marzinotto and other neighbours reached out to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) to help voice their concerns.
Dakota Tomah, a conservation coordinator with CPAWS, said the proposed development land was originally going to be included in the new Chasàn Chùa Territorial Park, and he doesn’t know why it wasn’t included in the end.
“I think it's important that that's maintained, and when we couple that with some of the ecological significance of that area, that makes it more imperative that we protect this area — or we understand what it is that the project is trying to accomplish, so we can weigh whether or not this is the best area for the proposed site for this development,” said Tomah.
He added the area is an active wildlife corridor, and one of the few places where animals can freely move through the city.
The proposed development is still in the pre-planning stages and any construction is likely years away, according to Mélodie Simard, a planning and sustainability manager with the city.
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