The Stitsville Village Association (SVA) says they want to work with Jackson Trails residents to come to an agreement on the best way to get cars in and out of a planned subdivision on Hazeldean Road.
Minto submitted a site plan application last spring for a development just west of Jackson Trails that would include 234 townhouses and 220 single-datached homes.
The plan for roads connecting the new subdivision to existing developments is causing some contention:
- Under Minto’s plan, traffic would enter the subdivision via Hazeldean Road in the south, and from Jackson Trails via Bandelier Way, Kimpton Drive and Eagle Crest Heights. There’s no connection to the subdivision in the west towards Carp Road.
- The City’s Transportation Master plan calls for a east-west connection from Kimpton Drive to Echowoods Avenue, connecting Carp Road to Stittsville Main Street, parallel to Hazeldean.
- The SVA supports this east-west connection, but some Jackson Trails Residents are concerned about cut-through and speeding traffic through their neighbourhood. They say drivers will use it as a short-cut to bypass Hazeldean Road.
- Shad Qadri says some business owners on Carp Road favour the east-west connection, because it would encourage residents in Jackson Trails and the new subdivision to visit their businesses, as opposed to shopping on Hazeldean Road or Stittsville Main.
- Minto does not own the land adjacent to Hazeldean Road, so it’s unclear if they’ll be able to provide road access to the south.
The issue was discussed on Thursday night at the SVA’s monthly meeting.
Prior to the meeting, Tim Larocque, the president of the Jackson Trails Community Association (JTCA), sent a letter to SVA president Phil Sweetnam.
In the letter, Larocque said the JCTA does not support connecting Kimpton and Echo Woods, and said that additional traffic analysis is required.
“Our single most important issue of the proposed design is traffic flow and safety. The JTCA supports connecting to Hazeldean as the primary access road for the Minto development. While connecting Kimpton to Echowoods is a possible option to consider, we believe it is a temporary or alternative solution that does not fully address resident concerns including pedestrian safety, speeding, traffic congestion and a secondary emergency route,” he wrote.
Jackson Trails resident Dan Scott attended the meeting, and said that while residents are concerned about cut-through traffic, they also recognize the new subdivision should have more than one exit point, to ensure safety and proper traffic flow.
No decisions were made at the meeting, but Sweetnam said that both the SVA and JTCA should meet and make sure that the needs of the entire Stittsville community, and the needs of residents in the new subdivision, are both addressed.
The City of Ottawa is still waiting for Minto to come back with changes to their proposed site plan, based on comments received earlier this year at a public meeting in June.
At the meeting, Qadri also said that city staff are reviewing an option to connect Stittsville Main Street to Maple Grove Road, at least temporarily. This would provide Jackson Trails with a second access point to their neighbourhood.
Jackson Trails only has one way in and out of the subdivision, at Stittsville Main and Hazeldean Road. Under the current TMP, there’s a plan to connect Stittsvile Main Street to Palladium Drive, but not until 2026-2031.
There’s a long-standing promise between the City of Ottawa and residents of Bryanston Gate near Johnwoods not to connect Maple Grove to Stittsville Main. That promise is reflected in the city’s official plan.
Qadri says he’s asked City staff to review that agreement to see if a temporary connection can be made until the future link to Palladium is completed. He says a full environmental assessment would be required before work proceeds.
We’d like to hear from residents about your thoughts on the traffic plan for the new subdivision. Add your comments below or email feedback@stittsvillecentral.ca
As a resident on Maple Grove Road I am abit concerned about the fact, if only temporary, connecting Maple Grove to Stittsvillle Main. Maple Grove Road already has a big issue of high volume traffic using the road as a through way to connect to Johnwoods and Hazeldean Road. Even with 50km a speed limit the cars/heavy trucks are speeding down Maple Grove Road doing 80+ with no regard to the residents or pedestrians. With the residents calling the city or police with our concerns we are basically told that until the accident reports rise or serious injury occurs there is really nothing that can be done. So why are we suggesting to have more traffic traveling down Maple Grove Road?