GuelphToday received the following Letter to the Editor from reader, Claudia Espindola, in response to a proposed development at 1242 Gordon St.
I want to draw the attention of my fellow constituents to the development happening at 1242 Gordon St. The developer is bringing the city to the Ontario Land Tribunal, claiming a "Failure of the City or neglect to make a decision on the Zoning Application within the prescribed timeline of the Planning Act to the Ontario Land Tribunal."
This development is at the heart of the “Gordon Intensification corridor” and it is flanked by three key intersections along Gordon: Edinburgh, Arkell and Kortright. As of 2024, there were roughly 10 ongoing developmental requests within a 2 km radius of this site, all spanning across Gordon St. Once all these projects are completed, they are expected to attract over 2,000 residents to the area.
During a public meeting – Reported by GuelphToday, the city received input from several local residents, myself included. Voicing our worries and reservations regarding traffic congestion, parking, access for emergency services, and environmental impact.
Furthermore, we expressed concerns that this development would aggravate the issues we are already experiencing around Gordon St.
A third-party traffic report, which was shared with both the City and the developer, reveals alarming projections regarding traffic delays and intersections nearing maximum capacity. Undoubtedly, this poses a significant risk not only to the local neighborhood but to all commuters utilizing the Gordon St corridor. Traffic study,
The study poses some recommendations on how to improve traffic flow. And the City of Guelph published the Gordon Street improvements, aimed to address some of those recommendations.
I encourage my fellow constituents to reach out to Jorda Viray at Ontario Land Tribunal via email at [email protected] and share your comments regarding this issue. From my point of view, allowing more development BEFORE IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDED STREET IMPROVEMENTS, would be a great disservice to the people living in the area and would heighten the risk of accidents and injuries for anyone using Gordon St.
I would also encourage you to attend the zoom meeting scheduled for April 3rd at 10am to ask the OLT not to permit the development until the street improvements have been completed.
While we all recognize the importance of housing, and the necessity for further development, it should not entail haphazard construction that disregards the welfare of existing residents of the area.
I hope readers will stand firm and support the city in its decision to pause this development and thank you for your time reading this.
Claudia Espindola
