A few weeks back, I sent an email to Cochrane town council expressing concerns surrounding the new Southbow development and had 1-on-1 discussions with a number of councillors.
My primary concern is that we do not currently have the transportation infrastructure in place to accommodate the increased number of citizens in the south Cochrane areas of Fireside, Willows, RiverSong and, now, Southbow. Having upwards of 20,000 residents in an area that is significantly segregated from the town centre, with only one transportation corridor to use, is a very bad idea. This past summer we witnessed a tremendous amount of traffic backups due to the bottleneck on Highway 22 crossing the Bow River. This will only get worse when you add Southbow into the mix. This is further exacerbated by the fact that the south Cochrane communities have no amenities whatsoever (I'm sorry, but a gas station, Tim Hortons and two car dealerships do not count for the type of amenities residents need). I understand that a new Bow River bridge connecting James Walker Trail and Griffin Road is planned, budgeted and expected to be completed in 2018-2019. But when I discussed the Southbow development plan with town councillors, my primary concern was that the residential development would out-pace the bridge construction and completion. In fact, I went so far as to request that council delay any progress on residential construction until the bridge was complete since it's not inconceivable that there could be unforeseen delays.
Not two weeks after this discussion, my fears were realized when I heard that the 2018-2019 bridge completion date is in jeopardy due to complications in land acquisition required for the bridge. If true, at this rate, we will have new high-density housing (in addition to low-density homes) completed with new residents moved in before any of us have an alternate route into town where we work, go to school, shop and play. I implore council to please plan this in a smart and effective way.
I am in no way saying South Bow cannot exist; I fully realize this town will grow and there is no stopping that. However, us residents in Fireside, Willows, RiverSong and Southbow deserve to have an alternate route into town as soon as possible.
Let's plan ahead for the future, not frantically react to past mistakes.
Chris Andrade, Cochrane
