To the Editor,
It is wonderful that a global company like the San Group would want to invest $900 million to $1.1 billion in Port Alberni. However, I have more than a few concerns.
Burde Street (where a housing development by San Group subsidiary Pacific Mayfair Estates is proposed) is already busy with traffic and congested with parked vehicles.
When the timber harvesting and road building starts, and then the construction, the noise will go on for years. Just look at the population density at the old high school site on Burde: it is only half completed and less than one-third the size of the Pacific Mayfair Estates plan.
You can’t tell me that all these people moving into our direct vicinity will not impact our quality of life. This project would make the Burde Street corridor the most densely populated area in the entire Alberni Valley. Too many people, too close together always equals less privacy, more noise and most certainly more crime.
I also have concerns about the environment and wildlife. Let the many daily Log Train Trail walkers attest to the beauty and to their many wildlife encounters with beavers, owls, deer, raccoons, bears, etc. This area must be spared for all to enjoy.
A much better option for the San Group would be to gift this beautiful area to the people of Port Alberni for their continued enjoyment and use, in exchange for smaller, dispersed areas where residential housing can be implemented without having such an adverse effect on population density. We don’t need more density here.
W.D. Whyte,
Port Alberni