Despite a meeting between town officials and a handful of residents on 49 Avenue on July 16, several concerns remain for at least one resident along that stretch of road.
The meeting was held in response to concerns about fast-moving vehicles, the lack of sidewalks or pathways for pedestrians and clouds of dust that vehicles churn up on the unpaved portion of the road on the street that have been raised over the past several years.
A gathering to discuss many of the same issues was also held earlier this year.
Burt Hunt, a 49 Avenue resident, said traffic calming measures proposed by the town for September to address these concerns such as proposed rumble strips, a three-way stop sign and paving the road may actually increase speed.
And he doesn't like the fact that no provision has been made for sidewalks or trails adjacent to the roadway. Hunt said an opportunity may have been missed to include the area as part of the town's Parks and Trails Master Plan.
“How the speed problem is resolved or not remains to be seen. We remain concerned about no provision for pedestrians. Increased traffic is not good for anybody living on any street. (Paving the road) will lead to increased traffic,” he said.
Larry Wright, the town's director of operations, told people at the July 16 meeting that a three-way stop sign at 49 Avenue and 56 Street and rumble strips are being considered to slow traffic. The town also wants to eliminate heavy trucks from using the road. No sidewalks or walking paths are being considered for the area, Wright said.
Fortis will be installing LED lights in the southern portion of the street to improve lighting in the area. Installing sanitary sewer pipe, improving the road base so that it drains off into the ditches on either side of the road and paving are other improvements on the schedule for later this year.
The entire project is estimated to cost $160,000.
“We're trying to make this work for everybody,” Wright told the assembled group. “I don't think it's a poor solution. It's something we want to do.”
As for the speeding issue, Wright said he believes the three-way stop sign and rumble strips will be a better way to slow traffic than having enforcement personnel in the area.
“Those kind of things are pretty effective. Much more effective than enforcement,” he said.
Scott Chant, the town's manager of utilities and public works, said there is a plan to put in trails at a later date, but that the town wanted to take advantage of construction prices now to get other improvements done.
Hunt pointed out that the Highlands subdivision, a new development in the southwest section of town, is getting trails and many other services installed. Wright said the developer of that subdivision included all those services in the development plan, but that 49 Avenue has had residents on it for more than 20 years and those services weren't included when residents first settled there.
Hunt also objects to the town's plan to take out the barricade at 49 Avenue and 58 Street. Town officials met with Alberta Transportation in December 2012 about taking out the barricade to provide a second access to the southeast industrial park, in case of an emergency. Hunt believes that will only lead to heavy trucks using 49 Avenue.
“We were told there was going to be a different access to the (industrial) park,” he said.
Despite Hunt's concerns, the town intends to go ahead with the planned upgrades to 49 Avenue in September.
