|
Clearing and
making of the road has begun. As noted on the plan this road will be
a crescent joining Vrege to Brenda. The following is the rationale
offered by HRM for the extension of Vrege Court to meet Brenda Drive:
*HRM staff have
carefully considered the question of whether or not to connect the
new school to Vrege Court and have the following comments:
1. Vrege Court was
designed and constructed with the plan and intention it someday be
extended to connect up with another roadway. This is shown by the
Road Allowance between numbers 23 and 24 Vrege Court.
2. HRM policy is
in favour of crescents or through streets over cul-de-sacs for
reasons of better access by service vehicles, emergency vehicles and
citizens. Cul-de-sacs are much harder to do snow and ice control on.
Underground services become more crowded at the head of cul-de-sacs.
3. Access to the
new school will be much better on a crescent roadway than on a
cul-de-sac. With a cul-de-sac, parents dropping off and picking up
students will reverse and turn around in a confined area. This
increased congestion would cause more hazardous conditions for the
students and others.
4. The traffic
study shows that the volumes of traffic expected from the new school
and the existing and potential new houses on the extended Vrege Court
will be well within HRM guidelines for a local residential street.
Additional information provided for clarity: The traffic study shows
that the volumes of traffic expected from the new school and the
existing and potential new houses on the extended Vrege Court will be
well within HRM guidelines for a local residential street. Section
12.7 of the Subdivision ByLaw of the former Halifax County
Municipality describes "local" streets as being expected to
have traffic volumes of up to 3,000 vehicles per day.
5. Emergency
access to the school itself will be much better on a crescent than a
cul-de-sac. On a cul-de-sac, secondary emergency access would have to
come via a walkway. Walkways are harder to carry out snow and ice
control on. An emergency roadway/walkway would need a locked gate
which would require maintenance personnel to have the proper key when
required. Walkways are cleared low on the snow and ice control
priority list raising the potential of a problem if an emergency
occurs during a storm cleanup period. |
