New school's soccer field needs city parkland

Residents in a New Sudbury neighbourhood are concerned about the changing landscape and the increase in traffic that will come with the building of a new school.

Part of the building plans for the Catholic School Boards new elementary school involves taking over parkland to create a soccer field. The soccer field won't be regulation size without the park-land.

Residents in the area have said they plan to fight the proposal, including Nick Lagges, whose backyard view will change with the building of the new school.

"I love this area [Ive been] 47 years in one spot," Lagges said. "I don't know what to expect after they build that school."

Lagges isn't the only one opposing the development.

Last week more than a hundred people showed up to a public meeting hosted by the school board.

Traffic concerns

Some residents expressed concern that a new school could mean heavier traffic on their streets.

Currently Hawthorne Street and Falconbridge Road are the only routes into St. Charles College, a secondary school that is located nearby the proposed site for the new school.

"[Theres a] lot of traffic," Lagges said. "Not only the kids that go to school, but you get the residential people up on Falconbridge Road and instead of going around, they go through here."

Blueprints for the new development show plans to open Courtland Drive which is currently a dead-end street onto the property.

Dennis Bazinet, the board's superintendent of Business and Finance, said the board is hopeful the situation will be resolved.

"We'd like to see the entire community embrace the project." he said. Right now we are strictly working with the city for the aquisition of the land."

In the meantime, area residents are holding neighbourhood meetings and petitions are circulating.

The citys planning committee will review the proposal on June 11.