By RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star Staff Oct 01 2006 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
After months of dust, shaking houses and detours, Alexis Park residents are running out of patience. The first lift of pavement just went down last week although Alexis Park Drive has been
ripped up since April as part of a widening project. "Nobody's happy," said Bob Adams while standing on his front step.
"It shouldn't have taken this long and it's not done yet." Adams claims the construction has left cracks in his home and made the neighbourhood unpleasant at times. "It's dusty and you have to keep all your doors closed," he said. Many residents are unwilling to give their names while the project is still under way.
"It's getting tiring. I wish it was done," said a woman, who fears the widening will lead to traffic woes. "They'll be done and we'll have a nice speedway." Alexis Park Drive is a major north-south connector, but daily closures have forced thousands of vehicles to find alternate routes. That's created headaches for residents' whose once quiet roads are now part of the detour. "It's crazy. You can't back out of your driveway," he said while cleaning his car at his daughter's home on 36A Street.Mary Prodaniuk keeps an eye on traffic as friends try to leave her driveway on 36A Street. "We're not use to this kind of action. It's usually a very quiet street," she said of the constant flow of vehicles. "It's like having company, steady company." Widening of Alexis Park Drive is part of the Turtle Mountain residential development. While the developer could not be reached for comment, City of Vernon officials say some delays have occurred because of utility lines and a water main break. "A variety of things went more slowly. A lot of underground works have been upgraded," said Lorne Holowachuk, manager of planning, development and engineering services, adding that the project was complex. "It certainly took longer than we expected." Holowachuk,
who doesn't know when the work will be done, admits some residents have been frustrated. "Any time we get a complaint, we've passed it on to the contractor. But there's not as many as you'd expect," he said. That's something Coun. Pat Cochrane finds hard to believe. He has received numerous calls about the length of the project. "It's a disaster. I can't imagine what people there have tolerated," he said. "Sure there are reasons why it's gone on like this, but it's not acceptable." Cochrane is demanding that the city look at the project and ensure that future construction initiatives are done quicker and are less disruptive to the public. "There has to be some lessons learned from this," he said.
After months of dust, shaking houses and detours, Alexis Park residents are running out of patience. The first lift of pavement just went down last week although Alexis Park Drive has been
ripped up since April as part of a widening project. "Nobody's happy," said Bob Adams while standing on his front step."It shouldn't have taken this long and it's not done yet." Adams claims the construction has left cracks in his home and made the neighbourhood unpleasant at times. "It's dusty and you have to keep all your doors closed," he said. Many residents are unwilling to give their names while the project is still under way.
"It's getting tiring. I wish it was done," said a woman, who fears the widening will lead to traffic woes. "They'll be done and we'll have a nice speedway." Alexis Park Drive is a major north-south connector, but daily closures have forced thousands of vehicles to find alternate routes. That's created headaches for residents' whose once quiet roads are now part of the detour. "It's crazy. You can't back out of your driveway," he said while cleaning his car at his daughter's home on 36A Street.Mary Prodaniuk keeps an eye on traffic as friends try to leave her driveway on 36A Street. "We're not use to this kind of action. It's usually a very quiet street," she said of the constant flow of vehicles. "It's like having company, steady company." Widening of Alexis Park Drive is part of the Turtle Mountain residential development. While the developer could not be reached for comment, City of Vernon officials say some delays have occurred because of utility lines and a water main break. "A variety of things went more slowly. A lot of underground works have been upgraded," said Lorne Holowachuk, manager of planning, development and engineering services, adding that the project was complex. "It certainly took longer than we expected." Holowachuk,
who doesn't know when the work will be done, admits some residents have been frustrated. "Any time we get a complaint, we've passed it on to the contractor. But there's not as many as you'd expect," he said. That's something Coun. Pat Cochrane finds hard to believe. He has received numerous calls about the length of the project. "It's a disaster. I can't imagine what people there have tolerated," he said. "Sure there are reasons why it's gone on like this, but it's not acceptable." Cochrane is demanding that the city look at the project and ensure that future construction initiatives are done quicker and are less disruptive to the public. "There has to be some lessons learned from this," he said. 
No comments:
Post a Comment