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Panel hears bitter dispute at marathon meeting
by Leah Janzen
The Winnipeg Free Press
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Legal (right) outlines concerns to city councillors during
a marathon meeting last night.
A city committee has approved construction of a controversial
bridge over the Seine River. The Riel Community Committee made
the recommendation after a marathon public meeting last night
in which both sides in the bitter dispute over a forest located
along the Seine River made their case before the panel.
The meeting lasted more than six hours.
At issue is the future of an area along the Seine River south
of Bishop Grandin Boulevard containing a 100-year-old oak forest
which will be affected by a proposed bridge connecting Southglen
Boulevard to a new 760-home housing development planned for the
Royalwood subdivision.
The environmental lobby group, Save Our Seine (SOS) charged the
proposed bridge is not necessary and will destroy valuable wildlife
habitat if it's built. The construction of the bridge will require
the river to be re-channeled, permanently changing the nature
of the Grade-A forest in the area, said SOS president, Jules Legal.
The SOS group appealed to the city committee last night to delay
approval of the bridge proposal to give them more time to raise
funds to help the city buy the affected land from developer, Ladco
Company Ltd. and the province.
But a number of advocates for the bridge said it's time to stop
discussing the plan that was originally agreed to over a decade
ago and start building. Representatives from the Manitoba Home
Builders' Association and a number of independent builders called
on the city to allow Ladco -- which has pledged to cover the cost
of the bridge itself -- to begin the project.
Residents from the existing Royalwood subdivision said the area
desperately needs a second access route and many spoke out in
support of the new bridge. "Our residents made a clear choice,''
said Royalwood Neighbourhood Association member, Terry O'Rourke.
"They chose the Southglen solution as the only real option that
makes sense."
A private consulting firm, Earth Tech, which was commissioned
by the city to look at options for the area, agreed. In a presentation
to the panel, Earth Tech representatives said a bridge at Southglen
with a larger bridge further south at Warde Avenue to follow in
the next 10 to 15 years is the best plan in terms of traffic flow
and environmental concerns. If the city doesn't approve the Ladco
plan, the proposed addition of 760 new homes to Royalwood will
be put on hold.
Supporters of the Southglen bridge also condemned an SOS concept
which would see the area around the forest turned into an interpretive
centre which would draw 120,000 people to the area each year.
The city has offered $1 million to buy the land owned by the
developer and promised to match any funds raised by SOS up to
$600,000 to purchase the land. So far, SOS has raised less than
$70,000 and the deadline for the deal is December 31, 2002. Last
night, representatives from SOS pleaded with the city to extend
the deadline to give them more time.
But the committee supported the bridge proposal which will now
proceed to the city's property and development committee.
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