Rick Stiebel/News Gazette
Complaints about loss of parking and less room to manoeuvre on Claude Road are part of the growing pains associated with an evolving downtown core, says Langford Mayor Stew Young.
“Langford is undergoing a lot of construction and we have to take the appropriate measures to ensure public safety,” Young said regarding complaints about a loss of parking in the City-owned lot on Claude Road and a narrowing of the roadway. “It’s like when we first started putting in sewers and there were lots of complaints initially. The end result is sometimes that there’s a little pain for long-term gain, but in the end everyone benefits and improvements are tremendous. Just look at Goldstream Avenue, compared to 10 years ago.”
Margaret McKay, owner of DB Services, said they have met all of Langford’s requirements from the beginning of the process to complete an 11-storey residential building on the properties at 2762 and 2768 Claude Rd.
She noted no one voiced any concerns in person at the public hearing for the rezoning application. “We’re happy to work with people and understand that the neighbourhood will be a little out of sorts, but safety is the number one priority.”
McKay said she understands some people were frustrated by the removal of some parking stalls and movement of the centre line on the road for safety reasons, but the company did issue warnings in advance. “We have to follow the guidelines established by the City,” she emphasized. While there were some complaints when the work began a few weeks ago, including a driver who threatened the site supervisor, there has been none since, McKay added.