Mount Pleasant residents raise concerns over 4 new towers

Residents wary about new rental housing A plan to densify part of Vancouver is being questioned by residents who say the neighbourhood doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure.

As part of the City of Vancouver's Broadway Plan, dozens of new residential high-rises are in the planning process at city hall.

That includes three in one two-block stretch of East 10th Avenue between Carolina Street and Guelph Street, where 463 new rental units are proposed.

Colliers has another lot for sale which it advertises as a "transit-oriented 18-storey rental site."

At the moment, those blocks are entirely made up of single-family homes, some of which have rental suites.

The narrow street has parking on both sides and is a very busy bike route, which makes existing traffic a tight squeeze.

The first three towers are still in the consultation phase and will eventually go before city council for a vote.

Some of the neighbours who live across the street tell CTV News they have submitted feedback urging the city to force the developers to scale back the projects because they fear the quiet leafy street does not have the infrastructure to support hundreds of new residents.

Citing the tone and rhetoric of the heated debate around housing density, the neighbours declined to be named and quoted for this story.

They say they are not opposed to densification, even on their street, but feel it needs to be done at a pace and scale that strikes a balance for existing residents.

City councillor Pete Fry with the Green Party told CTV News he cannot comment on specific proposals until they officially come before council.

But he says each individual project is evaluated on its merits, including its impact on existing communities.

"The Broadway Plan is a significant city-building plan that's going to add tens of thousands of units of new housing to our city. So it's a lot of work for planners," Fry said. "We rely on the expertise of our staff to deliver comprehensive reports and analysis for us and the tough part for us is making the decision."