A community meeting via zoom was held on February 22 for the construction that is taking place at the corner of Victor Street and Hazeldean Road. The meeting was hosted by Councillor Gower and allowed for Amberway residents’ concerns and questions to be answered personally by the members of Hazeldean Crossing Inc. – Carmine Zayoun, Co-founder and President of GNCR Developments; Marc Rollin, Site Supervisor; and, Raad Akrawi, Project Manager. Matthew Wilson, Supervisor of Development Inspections with the City of Ottawa also participated to guide residents through questions and offer information.
Carmine Zayoun introduced himself to the meeting and opened with, “there has been some miscommunication and I want to be as transparent as possible…and will try to respond to all concerns”.
The meeting started with the issue of blasting. Marc Rollins noted that the digging and blasting at the site will take up between three and four weeks, but that if hole ramming was to take place, it would take upwards to five weeks. The developer is expediting the blasting so five to eight blasts take place during the day, but only four to five have been occurring to date. Residents will hear 3 short horns and 1 long horn to warn that a blast will take place and will occur between the hours of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm from Monday to Thursday and on Friday, blasts will only take place for half of the day. Councillor Gower also expressed his concern over the blasting, wanting to ensure that houses within 75 metres have been inspected for damage. It was confirmed by Marc Rollins that home evaluations will take place for any damage.
Concerns have been expressed with respect to the start and end of day work being done. At this, Matthew Wilson noted that temporary Provincial guidelines are in place due to COVID-19 and times have been modified to allow workers to start at 6:00 am and end the day at 10:00 pm. It was also noted that weekend work will not happen, and if so, it would be when the buildings are up and painters or electricians are inside.
The major issue facing residents is the closure of Victor Street, with many questions asked. The street is slated to close from March 4 to April 2 going in the southward direction. The northbound lane will remain open with a flag person in place during working hours for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. Carmine Zayoun said that the road must be closed to replace the infrastructure. Marc Rollin indicated that the existing problem they face is the fact that the watermain line is on the East side of the road and the balance of the infrastructure is on the West side. A resident asked if connections could not be made to Hazeldean Road, but the City does not allow for this on main arterial roads. The road material will be gravel while partially closed, but will be repaved when the project is complete. A sidewalk is expected to be in place by mid-Fall to end of year. Should the road closure need an extension to the date, due to weather or other issues, Hazeldean Crossing would have to apply for a permit to do so.
There have been complaints of safety on the site, particularly a mask issue, but this has been addressed and solved, Marc Rollin told participants. Matthew Wilson indicated that if you have issues with safety to contact the Provincial Ministry of Labour or himself directly – matthew.wilson@ottawa.ca.
Parking during construction is another concern for those living in the neighbourhood. The Site Supervisor, Marc Rollin, indicated that parking will be available on-site, but that this could be a problem as more tradespeople come to the site. He is encouraging car-pooling.
Rollins assured residents that he will be monitoring safety in the area. He also added that bus service, garbage and snow removal should not be affected and that residents will have access to their laneways, as well Moore Chiropractic will have full access at all times. He felt that the flow of construction traffic would not be large as the development is a smaller build. Vehicles would unload construction materials on-site.
Matthew Wilson also indicated that interruption of services, i.e. internet or utilities, should not be a problem as the developer must call the companies to locate the service infrastructure prior to digging. But, should something occur, notices would be sent to residents.
Carmine ended with, “work with us, there is no need to call the Councillor”.
Hazeldean Crossing can be contacted by telephone at 613-567-4627. Councillor Gower will be providing updates and further contact information on his website.