08-18-2020, 04:17 PM
(08-18-2020, 03:56 PM)dtkmelissa Wrote: ....
As someone also interested in housing, especially more affordable housing, I have been thinking about this a lot. Many/most mid-rise (and higher density) projects are built along busier corridors. I have spoken at numerous council meetings where folks oppose certain new developments, and they'll always say that if it has to be built, at the very least put it away from the 'residential' side of the lot towards the corridor. Perhaps that makes sense sometimes, but I'm not convinced it should be the default. Then, when we talk about these corridors, we speak of 'car sewers', highways, etc and not as residential neighbourhoods where people live, work, walk, etc (and often a lot of people due to the higher density I just spoke of). To me, it feels like one more way we treat those who rent and/or live in apartments as not as important as 'homeowners'.
You're absolutely right, there is a huge equity issue here.
It is of zero surprise that one of the few regional arterial roads that also serves as a residential street that has been able to reliably push back on road expansions is a wealthier exclusively single family home neighbourhood...and an aggresively so one at that.
I suspect that if that neighbourhood was more affordable townhomes and midrise apartment buildings, chances are good that road would be five lanes wide with no trees right now...