Attachment: Polly Place - 2015 Detailed Rationale

Summary:

• We are not in favour of signage or marking posts on Kingham Place marking Polly Place and delineating the right-of-way.
• We are not in favour of placing a bench at the end of Polly Place
• We, the residents of Kingham Place, are in favour of spending tax dollars on areas that benefit the greater good for our community to access water views and water access.
• ***** Please read the police consultation section below!!!*****
• This is not an unreasonable request to the Town of View Royal - it is good fiscal and common sense to direct tax payers money elsewhere where people will benefit from water views and water access
• When the Town of View Royal surveyed the residents of this neighbourhood 85% + voted not in favour of opening up Polly Place

Rationale:

Crime:

• Crime on Kingham Place is on the rise.
• Two car break-ins, stolen bike, tires knifed and a garage was broken into this year.
• Putting signage on Kingham Place invites more crime.
• Other residents of View Royal that have had parks or signage placed next to them have noticed an increase in crime.

Police Consultation:

• Signage and a bench invites an opportunity for drugs, drinking, partying, vandalism and theft.
• Police confirm that typically public access points that have been marked as public access results in “increased under-aged drinking, graffiti and general vandalism to the surrounding area”.
• “This will increase traffic both foot and cars, which leads to more exposure to your neighbourhood which increases traffic and possibility of thefts as well as break and enters”.
• Police also confirm that beach access invites beach fires, which results in nuisance calls and vandalism.

Safety:

• 5 years ago there were 2 kids on Kingham, now there are 25.
• Inviting strangers to the area puts the safety of these children at risk.
• Even if the signs go up that say from dawn till dusk, who will actually police this?
• The residents of Kingham know they can use Polly Place at their will; we don’t need signs or benches for our own local residents.

Parking:

• Kingham Place is already experiencing parking challenges from Centennial Helmcken Park. There has been a recent increase in the number of cars parking in front of residences along Kingham Place
• Having cars park down Kingham is a safety concern for the kids, as is increased traffic.
• If cars are to park on Polly Place it blocks the driveway and access of the residents of 137 Kingham.

Local Resident’s Access:

• On May 6th 2015, a meeting which was held at 66 Kingham for the residents of Kingham Place to discuss this issue, 25 people were in attendance.
• The local residents of Kingham are welcome to access the bottom of Polly Place without having to place signage on Kingham or place a bench.

Tax Payers Dollars:

• Tax dollars are better spent elsewhere (ie. Sidewalks, speed bumps, more parking for Centennial Park users, new playground equipment, etc)
• There are better locations to spend this money on not to mention the upkeep that will be required to maintain it

A few questions we continue to ask:

• Has there been any demand from people seeking access to the water of Portage Inlet via Polly Place? It would make more sense for people to use Portage Linear Park.
• Has any committee member viewed the site to become personally aware of the conditions? If not, we recommend that they do.
• Has an analysis of each site, that has been identified as possible water view points, been completed to show which site has the greatest access for public access. other a fir. Is this the best use of tax payers money?
• Has a traffic consultant been hired to provide an analysis of what increased traffic flow will do to the street and what parking would be provided to the public. As an example, Kingham Place does not allow for street parking and with many new families moving onto the street the residents are concerned about adding addition traffic.
• Has a maintenance plan been developed to support these new areas and how will this impact the Town’s budget? As an example at present at the end of Polly Place we water the grass, cut the grass, rake the leaves, etc. at our expense.
• We would like to know if council has done an analysis to support the signage and opening of water views at the various sites? There are a number of benches and water access points already in place around View Royal, is there a demand for more?
• We would like to invite council to come and see the areas that are being proposed to be opened.
• How will security concerns be handled should an opening take place at the end of Polly Place? The front door of 137 Kingham is such that strangers would be approximately 15ft from their front door.
• Driveway access for 137 Kingham Place is down Polly Place and always has been since 1957 (before the Town of View Royal even existed!). If people parked on Polly Place and there was an emergency how would the residents of 137 exit and access their place of residence? Who will enforce cars parking on Polly Place when this becomes a problem?
• We are very concerned about the children’s safely with increased traffic both vehicle and foot should a sign by placed at the top of Polly Place.