While the acres of development along the corner of Kenmount Road and Mount Carson Avenue, a formerly forested area, may bring to the minds of some the words of Joni Mitchell’s hit song “Big Yellow Taxi,” Mount Pearl Mayor Dave Aker said the City hasn’t simply “paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”
Aker said council is working hard to strike a balance between development and greenspace to maintain the city’s “City within a Park,” moniker.
“There are some neighbourhoods in the region that are just full of concrete and pavement and houses, and people neglect to put in the schools and trailways and tennis courts and basketball courts, but that’s all part of our zoning,” said Aker. “We’ve allocated a certain percentage to open space, but of course, we need now proposals from the developers as the last step towards getting things done. So, I would expect in the next year or two that there will be a bit of a housing boom up there.”
As to the Kenmount Hill development, Aker said that the existing streams and brooks will be preserved, and that trees, trails, and parks will be included.
Aker’s comments were made during an interview at the Annex at Admiralty House Communications Museum following the announcement of $23.6 million in federal, provincial, and municipal funding for infrastructure projects across the province, including $5.3 million for upgrades to water, sewer and stormwater lines along Holden Street, as part of phase one of the Kenmount Hill development. The work on Holden Street will enable upwards of 1,390 new builds and continued service for 435 existing properties.