'They're not listening': Some Dunluce residents unhappy with city's renewal plans

Final neighbourhood renewal designs were presented to residents in Dunluce on Wednesday Nov. 20, 2024. (Galen McDougall/CTV News Edmonton)

An open house was held in Dunluce Wednesday night.

The neighbourhood, located in the Castledowns area of North Edmonton, was selected for neighbourhood and alley renewal.

"We want to hear what people have to say about the final design," said Jen Rutledge, a supervisor with Edmonton's Neighbourhoods Planning and Design.

"There’s been a lot of changes since the draft design, some pretty significant ones," she added.

The project would include replacement and widening of all sidewalks, adding shared pathways, road and alley reconstruction, street light renewal, and drainage improvements.

It would also mean some changes to on-street parking availability and traffic control changes.

The city said engagement with the community first began in 2022.

"I am really not happy about this because you’re not listening to people. They just made a couple of minor changes, that’s it," said Dunluce resident Thomas Deak on Wednesday.

"It’s worked for 50 years in this community and now you’re telling me all of a sudden we need all this cookie cutter policy, that doesn’t work for me," he said.

Deak said hundreds of homeowners in the area have signed a petition about the renewal project.

"We want everything in this neighbourhood as is," said Deak.

"You want to replace the sidewalks? Not a problem. You want to fix our potholes and give us a new road? Not a problem. We want it as is," he added.

Alvin Charchuk, who has lived in the community for more than four decades is also unhappy with the final plans.

"I think the final design needs to be re-worked. We would like to have like-with-like," said Charchuk.

"We’re supposed to be living in a democracy and it’s a dictatorship. They’re telling us what we want," he added.

Rutledge said part of the goal of neighbourhood renewal projects is to implement city policies, one of which is Complete Streets.

The city defines Complete Streets as "a holistic approach to designing streets that are safe, attractive, comfortable, and welcoming to all users in all seasons."

"There's some folks that agree with some of the philosophies behind Complete Streets and some folks who don't," said Rutledge.

"For us, those can be challenging conversations," she said.

"It's just making sure that when we come in with this investment that we're making sure that we're building to today's standards," she added. "Not when the neighbourhood was originally developed."

Another man who has lived in the neighbourhood for 47 years said he's happy with the final design.

"I like it because the city has made concessions to the very vocal, negative group that has complained about the renewal process," said Larry Macinnis.

He likes that the proposed bike lanes were removed from the plan and replaced with wider, multi-use paths.

Most of the costs associated with the Neighbourhood Renewal program are paid through a reserve fund from City-wide property taxes.

However, sidewalks and decorative street lighting are cost-shared by the City and homeowners where the improvements are happening.

Payments can be made in a one-time lump sum or an amortized payment where it is gradually paid off on a homeowner's annual property taxes.

"My sense is that people are very, very opposed to the renewal because they don’t want to pay for the costs, because we’re all going to bear some of the costs," he said.

"Our property tax bills are high enough with inflation and the cost of living, oh but no, we face a double bill," said Deak. "People can't afford double the bills."

Community members have until the end of November to provide additional feedback on the design through an online survey.