Residents got their first look at the project team’s preferred design alternative for the new road being proposed as part of the Waterdown-Aldershot Transportation Master Plan (WATMP). A similar meeting was held at Crossroads Church in Burlington Thursday to get public feedback into the design of the north-south Waterdown Road route, also part of the WATMP study.

Both proposals have been controversial, with neighbouring residents continuing to state concerns about increased noise and air pollution from the additional traffic, as well as a decrease in property values associated with having the new roads located near existing homes.

The roads are needed to satisfy the transportation needs linked to extensive residential development proposed for north and southeast Waterdown over the next decade.

While revisions in the east-west route have been made to satisfy residents’ concerns, including a slight shift in the road’s alignment so that it now crosses Centre Road 165 metres north of Northlawn Avenue, residents of the Hunter Park subdivision have requested that the road be moved even farther north. Led by resident Rick Breznik the local homeowners have requested a meeting with the project team to make their case. They contend that a more northerly aligned route across Centre Road, as much as 350 metres north of Northlawn, will not only lessen the impact on their homes but is the best route option based on criteria being studied and assessed by the project team.

Syeda Banuri, senior project manager for environmental planning with Hamilton’s public works department, while unavailable for comment before the Review’s press deadline, indicated during an earlier interview that public feedback on the preferred road designs will continue to be considered by the project team as it prepares to release its Environmental Study Report (ESR) sometime before the end of the year. She also said that moving the road further north isn’t possible because a provincially significant wetland is located just north of the Hunter Park subdivision.

There will be additional opportunities for public input in the process in the months ahead, including a 30-day appeal period when the ESR is placed on public record, providing an opportunity for any individual, group or agency to challenge the study’s findings. After release of the ESR, a notice of the study’s completion will also be given to review agencies and the public.

Even given smooth sailing throughout the rest of process, Banuri estimated it could be another three to five years before the new roads are built.