Regina residents concerned over potential Prince of Wales extension

Wascana View residents opposed a study for Prince of Wales Drive extension cost and potential park disturbance. Jacob Carr reports.

The Wascana View Action Group is imploring City officials to halt its proposed feasibility study to extend Prince of Wales Drive to Wascana Parkway.

Jack Huntington, a spokesperson for the group, said construction needed to extend the road cannot happen because of the permanent conservation easement on the McKell Wascana Conservation Park.

“An encroachment means that there will be no work done on the easement,” he said. “As a result, a road going through there would be work on the easement. And working closely with Ducks Unlimited, they’ve made it quite clear they’re not prepared to give permission to go through the reserve.”

In a response to the group’s concerns, the City of Regina issued a response, saying:

“Regarding the Wascana Parkway to Prince of Wales Drive Functional Study, this work is being advanced in alignment with the Arcola Avenue Corridor Study, which identified it as a mid-term project. It is important to note that any construction, if it proceeds, would be at least 5-15 years away.”

The city noted that the study does not mean the roadway will be built, maintaining that the purpose of the study is to “assess feasibility, including route options, environmental and regulatory requirements, floodplain considerations, land needs, staging and potential neighbourhood impacts.”

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Design and construction of the extension would only move forward if the project proves feasible and the future budget is approved by Regina’s city council. The City has said if significant challenges arise, administration will revisit the broader corridor plan and evaluate alternatives.

“We recognize the concerns raised, including environmental impacts, the Ducks Unlimited easement, hydrology and community safety. As part of the study, the consultant will review and update previous environmental, ecological and technical assessments and will identify any additional mitigation or design measures required,” the City concluded.

A comprehensive engagement process is also included in the project. All affected stakeholders, including residents in Wascana View, will be contacted early in the new year to participate in discussions.

But Lex Ewen of the Wascana View Action Group told CTV News he has talked to several citizens in The Creeks neighbourhood who are concerned with the cost of the feasibility study, amid the City’s proposed property tax hike of over 15 per cent.

“I’m paying 1,500 dollars a month in property taxes for us to do a third study and spend another $300,000, especially given what we have outlined with Ducks Unlimited,” Ewen said.

Two previous feasibility studies were completed, including one in 2012, that the Wascana View Action Group has said makes it clear that the conservation park can not be encroached upon.

Another concern is the amount of increased vehicle traffic that the extended roadway would create in an already congested school zone near École W.S. Hawrylak Elementary School.

“Many parents are picking up their children at the same time the school buses are there, and they’re taking their children off to extracurricular activities,” said Huntington. “To bring now another 15,000 or 20,000 vehicles through ... that’s why the concern and the Regina Public School Board is going to express that concern to city council here in the near future.”

Huntington and Ewen have said that discussions with city council as to possible alternatives for the congestion of vehicle traffic in east Regina, are ongoing.