By Pepper Parr
May 29th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
High rise intensification, traffic congestion, sidewalk patios and Lakeshore Road – put them together – well you know where this is going.
A hole was punched through just underneath the letter O – the firemen weren’t sure just where the smoke was coming from. What they didn’t want was to see a sudden eruption of flames.
Fire fighters, fully kitted out get on to the roof.
Earlier this week there was a small electrical fire in the sign above the RCS restaurant directly across the street from the Waterfront Hotel. Two fire trucks responded to the call.
Those of you who do the downtown thing know that Lakeshore Road has been narrowed with the right hand lane that lets you go North on Brant now taken up with road barriers.
The narrowing of the road to make room for the sidewalk patios creats close to gridlock.
Imagine what traffic will look like if the twin tower development gets approved at the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Pictures tell that story
For the residents who are now living in this area it is almost impossible to avoid this area.
In the past when I attended public meetings for new development proposals the representative from the City transportation Department always indicated that traffic congestion would not be an issue.
My take on this was that they never looked at the big picture. Yes, perhaps this development would not affect traffic congestion, however, they never included all the other development applications that were in the same area.
Just wait until the ADI development on Lakeshore and Martha have people living in the units, and then when the Carriage Gate Development on Lakeshore and Pearl is completed. Both these developments have 7 levels of underground parking and hundreds of people living in these 2 buildings alone.
Then of course there is the proposed developments in the “football” area between Old Lakeshore Road and Lakeshore Road.
What was the Transportation Department thinking? Perhaps they knew that those involved in these reports would be retired from the City and none of this would affect them.
The end result will be that the downtown will be the last place residents who have drive come to shop, or visit the restaurants.
I guess this is what happens when a City does not protect an area through their official plan and has no vision of what they want their waterfront to look like.
Well stated, Penny. Even when the Official Plan was being “updated”, the “football” was left out of the update. The City didn’t even try to limit the high rises that will soon be there. The whole downtown lakeshore area will become an endless clogged traffic area, unless of course you want to go there in the middle of the night. What’s not to like, eh?
RCS ? In my youth this was the Victoria Lunch aka “The Greeks”.Owner was the Pendikas family.
Im afraid it’s going to get worse. Locals know how to avoid this but it’s bad for festival days