Waterfront Development

Before our city council allows this huge project at the end of Bernard on the lake to be developed I'd like to say a couple of things. Rapid development and infrastructure. Edmonton Alberta has grown at an alarming rate over the past 10-15 years. Areas that were once haunts of mine where I'd go cross country skiing, are now houses and condos.

This is fine however getting to these developments isn't always a pleasant experience. Traffic in parts of the city is congested and at times dangerous. The Whitemud freeway in the western part of the city is bumper to bumper during both rush hours. The speed limit is 80 km/hr but 110 km/hr is the normal. This contributes to accidents, road blockages and more delays.

This scenario is found in every corner of the city. Whether it be the Manning freeway in the N.E., the Yellowhead in the north etc., Edmonton's growth did not allow it's infrastructure to keep up. Now the city finds itself struggling to build a ring road around itself. Downtown Kelowna is already congested with limited access to the lake. Other areas of concern are public facilities like KGH.

The hospital is already overflowing with patients being placed on beds in hallways. This I know because I'm an employee there. Until a new much larger hospital is built, maybe we should curb these large urban developments like the one on the waterfront and at McKinley Landing. The old KSS site would make a fine location for a hospital by the way. I left Edmonton because of the reasons I've mentioned. I hope I don't have to leave here as well for the same reasons.

Dave Wood, Kelowna