Following extensive community consultations to improve pedestrian safety in Sundre's downtown core while maintaining a steady flow of traffic, Alberta Transportation will soon be rolling out a pilot project approved by council last April.
But before the temporary design is implemented for a trial period of one year, the public will have an opportunity next week to learn about the coming changes and what they'll look like.
An open house is scheduled for Wednesday, May 3 at the Sundre Community Centre's gym. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with a presentation starting at 6 p.m. followed by an opportunity to ask questions until about 9 p.m. Light refreshments will be available.
"The public will be able to listen to a formal presentation provided by the pilot project engineers, view the proposed redesign of the highway through the town, ask questions and receive general and technical information on the project," officials said in a prepared statement.
Mayor Terry Leslie told the Round Up over the phone last week that widespread community and business concerns regarding pedestrian safety along Main Avenue had been a main factor behind the effort to come up with an alternative design.
"The whole safety issue was one of the biggest reasons for the changes," he said.
The community and stakeholder consultations held last year in collaboration with Alberta Transportation engineers did not go without some concerns being raised by the trucking industry, he said.
However, protecting pedestrians and businesses is the driving motivator, and if following the one-year trial pilot project the new design is deemed to improve safety along Main Avenue while maintaining an adequate flow of traffic, it could become permanent. That being said, should the changes inadvertently create more problems than they set out to remedy, it'll be time to go back to the drawing board, he said.
"We'll try this and see if it's something that the community says is effective," the mayor said.
The five options originally brought before council last year were as follows: leave the existing four-lane configuration as is; use back-to-back left turn lanes with the traffic lights at Centre Street; four mini roundabouts; three mini roundabouts with the traffic signals at Centre Street; or one mini roundabout with back-to-back left turning lanes and the lights at Centre Street.
At the time, administration had narrowed those choices down to two: the three mini roundabouts with the traffic lights at Centre Street or the back-to-back left turning lanes with the traffic lights at Centre Street. Based on feedback from the community, council supported Alberta Transportation's three mini roundabout option with the traffic lights at Centre Street.
Town of Sundre operations manager Jim Hall said last week the pilot project will ideally be ready before the Sundre Pro Rodeo in June to get an idea of how the changes might impact the highest traffic event of the year.
The one-year trial period will also help determine how efficient the design is during the winter, the mayor said.
"We need to study it through all seasons and see how things work with snow removal," said Leslie.
"It's a pilot project with a study intended to make a decision that's data driven."
