Portobello association looks to bolster profile

“We’ve got to make sure people know there is an association,” says Pierre Letendre, president of the Portobello South Community Development Association (PSCDA), which covers Portobello Boulevard and includes the neighbourhoods of Avalon, Notting Gate and Notting Hill. “Quite a few people don’t know (about us).”

The PSCDA was formed in the summer of 2007 to represent area interests, although the organization’s beginnings date back to late 2006, he continues, spurred by resident outcry over a proposed Cardel Homes affordable housing development for the area. “(They were) proposing to build more housing on the other side of Martello (Drive),” Letendre recounts. “There was a big concern from residents that having it would drive down the value of their homes.”

After a flurry of meetings – including one where almost 300 residents attended – the need for a community association, he explains. They formed a board and went to the table with Cardel numerous times, Letendre says, before the decision was made to change their plans.

Even with that issue resolved, “because a lot of things were going to be happening, we decided we should form (the association permanently),” he adds. “This population here will probably attain close to 10,000 people. This is really a growing population more than anything else.”

The group’s current mandate is “to look at different things for parks and recreation,” Letendre explains, as well as traffic, general development and school-related issues.

With five schools currently within their borders and two more planned, he suggests it’s common sense to partner in that area. Most recently, the PSCDA has aided schools including Avalon and St. Theresa with fairs and garage sales, Letendre recounts, as well as lending a hand with safety issues like developing a new student drop-off at St. Theresa.

Another ongoing project has been to push the city for more stop signs and bus shelters throughout the area and lower speed limits in others, Letendre continues. One sign of success so far has been the upcoming park planned for Provence Avenue, he says, with the PSCDA hoping to hold a BBQ celebration there once it’s open.

Even with so many initiatives on the go, awareness has been an issue for the organization in the past, Letendre explains, one that is especially important to resolve with new municipal projects like the widening of Trim Road and Avalon’s community hall coming down the line.

The PSCDA is might also extend its boundaries to include a section of Trim Road and also bring in more commercial properties to act as community partners or sponsors, he adds. “We want a larger area to service a lot more people,” Letendre says. “We represent them. As much as (Cumberland Coun.) Rob Jellett represents them. the association is also a good sounding board for ideas.”