Reject no-sidewalk petition, councillors told

The Blezard Valley neighbourhood that said it didn't want sidewalks is likely getting them after all.

On Monday, the city's planning committee will be asked to support a staff recommendation that the developer of the Royal Meadows subdivision install sidewalks on Claudette, Valecrest and Royal streets in the community.

In the report on the issue, city planners say a closer examination of a neighbourhood petition against the sidewalks shows it has less local support than it originally appeared.

“Staff in reviewing the petition, note that eight of the 24 residents signing it were from Cloverdale Crescent, which is not proposed to have a sidewalk,” the report says. “Of the remaining 16 signators to the petition, four are from duplicate addresses on Valecrest and Claudette Streets, leaving 12 distinct addresses from the three streets where sidewalks are proposed.”

First approved in 1982, the Royal Meadows Subdivision includes 74 single-dwelling lots. When plans for the final four phases of the development were approved in 2009, city planners called on the developer to extend an existing sidewalk on Royal Street “westerly along Royal Street, then north on the west side of Valecrest and then easterly along the south side of Claudette Street.”

However, some weren't too happy with the sidewalk plan. In his letter to the city, Christian Seguin says homeowners in the area have spent money on landscaping that will be damaged by the sidewalks.

“Who will be responsible for fixing the interlock driveways that have already been put in?” he asks. “Furthermore, these taxpayers should be refunded for the bricks that will be removed to allow for the sidewalk.”

Seguin said homeowners should have been told about the plan when they bought their homes.

“Shouldn't it be the residents decision on whether or not to have a sidewalk? We're the ones that have paid for it,” he writes. “I truly hope that city council will rethink their plans to install sidewalks in our subdivision. It will simply add more infrastructure to maintain and take away from our green space.”

But the staff report says if the city says no to sidewalks now, if they change their mind in future, the city will have to pay the costs. As it stands, the developer will have to pay for them. And the city's Official Plan calls for sidewalks to be provided on at least one side of the street.

“As noted in the Official Plan, sidewalks are an essential component of good neighbourhood design, providing a safe pedestrian environment, encouraging walking and provide safety for children,” the report says.

“It is further noted that on May 27 2007, Council adopted a resolution which included that the City of Greater Sudbury accept the challenge to become the most pedestrian friendly city in Ontario by 2015.”
Allowing the subdivision to proceed would not only go against those goals, the report concludes, it could also encourage other neighbourhoods to make similar requests.