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About 30 concerned Roberts Creek residents met Feb. 17 to voice their dissatisfaction with a proposal to make Largo Road a through-road.
At the informal meeting at Roberts Creek Legion, organized by Largo Rd. residents Anne Moul and Bronia Kingsbury, only one attendee said he was not opposed to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI)’s plan to join the two sections of Largo Rd. to create a through-road, from Highway 101 to Lower Rd. This proposal is part of a planned 13-lot subdivision in Roberts Creek.
A stretch of Largo Rd., which used to be a trail, has been cleared to service a new 13-lot subdivision. The provincial transportation department is insisting that Largo be a through-road between the highway and Lower Rd., but area residents say it would be dangerous and want a cul-de-sac that would prevent through traffic. Shel Neufeld photo
Attendees told Lori Pratt, Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) board chair, many reasons for their stance. Their primary issue was the danger of more accidents at Largo and Highway 101, with poor sight lines and no left-turn lane. They cited recent traffic accidents in this area even without a through-road. Similar concerns were expressed about two-way traffic on the narrow Largo Road entry point at Lower Road.
“The bottom line is people’s lives,” Kingsbury said after the meeting. “It seems like MoTI is refusing to see it that way, that they have put on blinders and are truly not listening to the majority of the neighbours’ legitimate concerns regarding public safety.”
The group shared serious worries that as a through-road, Largo Rd. would replace Roberts Creek Road as the new, shortest way to get to the heart of the Creek from the Town of Gibsons. Some attendees stated that this would not only encourage speeding drivers on the B&K Road to take Largo Rd. to the heart of the Creek, it would likely identify Largo Rd. on visiting drivers’ GPS systems as the preferred route, bypassing Roberts Creek Road.
Other concerns included increased congestion and parking on a street already heavily used for Legion events; more traffic accidents and speeding on Largo Rd. itself, particularly putting children and pedestrians at risk; noise and pollution impacts; and a fundamental change to the peaceful, rural feel of the neighbourhood road.
Pratt said that she would consider a “pause” on the process and confer with Roberts Creek SCRD representative Andreas Tize and local MLA Nicholas Simons.
Submitted by Heather Conn,
Largo Rd. resident
