Dear editor,
We attended the Thrifty Foods information meeting and were pleased to see and hear the residents that were very much against some of the same problems that we have with this project.
1. We don’t want access by car from inside the Crown Isle development. This is only going to increase traffic in a residential area through playgrounds, etc.
2. We were sadly disappointed in the design of the project. It’s obvious that the architect didn’t take the time to drive through Crown Isle and propose a centre that ties in with the architecture of Crown Isle. Instead, he is proposing a flat top mini box development which is similar to Home Depot, Costco, etc. and doesn’t blend itself with the Crown Isle Development.
The centre in Parksville and Tswwassen, which we have frequented are developed with style for the area. What happened here?
We were also disappointed to see that the proposal has all the big stores at the back of the development, which requires noise barriers for the multi trucks that will use that access right beside the residential area. If the large stores backed on to Ryan or Lerwick, you would perhaps not have the problem with the residents that you are going to have.
We know that the plans have been drawn and were told at the meeting that if you pass this development permit its a done deal, and we will get exactly what was proposed, which is not what the community wants. We would like the development to have the character and design that Crown Isle has put into this development.
It was also mentioned that the plans call for three drive-thrus, which would be a dreadful mistake.
As an example, look at the mess that has been created at Guthrie and Anderton around the Tim Hortons and McDonalds restaurants. We personally have stopped going to the cleaners, Tim Hortons, McDonalds, and M&M because of the traffic congestion. Sometimes the lineups go right out to Anderton and you can’t move in the parking lot.
We ask that you take a second look at this and make some of the changes that the people at the meeting who strongly expressed their desires.
Bob and Jackie Scott,
Courtenay
