A handful of Langford residents are calling on local politicians to slow development approvals and deal with traffic issues after they gave the green light to two condo towers.
Langford city councillors recently approved zoning changes that will allow tall towers, such as Langford Central’s planned towers on Scafe Road. One tower is projected to be 18-storeys high while the other will be 24-storeys, and once completed, they would bring nearly 1,000 units of housing to the area.
But a group of local residents, known as Langford Voters for Change, are opposed to the idea, saying decisions are made too quickly, and without adequate public input.
“Well, the Langford Central and the Gateway, they’re six towers combined. Which is I believe, about 725 more units, which is going to bring 1,000 to 1,400 more vehicles into the immediate area. So there are a number of issues,” said member, Jacqueline Gintaut.
Traffic concerns have been an issue in Langford for years, where many of the roads are already jammed packed.
Al Hasham, owner of Maximum Express, says many of his workers live in Langford and find driving in and around the city is difficult.
“It’s just become more and more difficult to try and drive anywhere in town,” he said. “They said downtown West Shore is already really tight. Now to build density, which is great for affordable living spaces, but what about the traffic? What are we going to do about it.”
Gintaut believes city council needs to be more open, otherwise, existing issues, such as gridlock will only get worse.
“If you take a shot of Peatt Road, you’ll see that it’s one lane each way. The roads are not in ideal condition to handle that traffic. So there’s traffic in the immediate area. There’s traffic cross-community, which is building, and building, and building.”
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But Langford’s mayor, Stew Young, says traffic won’t be an issue because the new density is in the downtown core. He also said residents living in any future downtown development will live and work in Langford, reducing their traffic footprints.
“The future of Langford, and where we’re gonna go over the next 25 years is density in our core. We’re not doing urban sprawl anymore,” said Young.
A rendering of a proposed high-rise development in Langford (Photo submitted)
Mary Griffin
