Affordable housing development plan near Edmonton school prompts traffic safety concerns

Some residents of a south Edmonton neighbourhood are concerned about a proposal to build an affordable housing development next door to an elementary school.

Dozens of peopleattended an open house Thursday atKeheewinSchool, a K-6 school at 1910 105th St. City staffprovided an update on a plan to construct up to 182 housing units on an adjacent site that was once intended for a junior high school. The site was declared surplus in 2009.

The location of it, next to a school, is not ideal.- Joshua Bernard, neighbourhood committee chair

Joshua Bernard, chair of a neighbourhood committee liaisingwith the city on the project, said the primary worry relates to traffic and student safety.

"Ultimately, I support people being able to afford a house that they can live in," Bernard said. "The location of it, next to a school, is not ideal."

The city announced two years ago that it wouldrepurposea number of surplus school sites throughout Edmonton as affordable housing.

While some projects are geared towardlow-income buyers or seniors, thedemographicbreakdownofKeheewinhas not yet been determined.

• Surplus school sites to be turned into affordable housing

Maurice Rachwalski, the city's director of housing and homelessness, said repurposingsurplusschool sites is an opportunity to offer some relief to the 25,000 families in the city who are putting more than a third of their less-than-$54,000 income toward shelter.

As per citypolicy, between 50 and 75 per cent of the units proposed in Keheewin will be affordable. The rest will be market price.

Paula Melnyksaid her main concern is that the street in front of the school could end up lined by vehicles without parking spots.

"If moms can't park on 105th Street, kids are going to be crossing," Melnyk said. "That's not as safe as if they could just get into the car from the sidewalk."

Melnykacknowledged that affordable housing has beenstigmatized, but said she isn't worried about that.

"Talking to people here at the meeting, [they] are still griping about why it's being done,"Melnyksaid. "We have to move on.

"We will still have some chance to have some input into what will actually be built."