Dear editor:
In response to “Talking Cochrane” written by Mary Lou Davis: she comes up with some suggestions on how to live in a town where the growth or new developments have been great enough in size to contribute to the clogging of roads exiting and entering such developments as well as other roads in town at peak traffic times. She suggests we talk to the town office on the 10-Year Strategy, read updates and get involved! Then, our town has a plan called “Connecting Cochrane” which addresses roads, a pedestrian network and bike paths and Jared Kassel, Cochrane’s development manager, says they are involved in ongoing talks with the province on widening highways.
Talking and doing are different things, as most of us fully recognize. Cochrane has planned on a maximum growth to 60,000 people. Our town is now under half that size and traffic is worse here than in some areas of Calgary. This is one of the key concerns of Cochranites as well it should be.
If no major changes are to be made to Highway 1A and Highway 22 to help move traffic for ease of travel and emergencies in the next year or two, I suggest this town cannot afford to continue to develop. Listening to audiotapes in the traffic jams in Cochrane was one suggestion made which ignores the reason people moved here originally, or even recently. To enjoy the pleasures of small town living were never meant to include such long traffic delays that audiotapes would be needed so one could endure the long waits in traffic lineups.
It is also important to remember that Highway 22 is a major highway in Alberta and not designed for our use alone, as is 1A, though it runs parallel to Highway 1, so continued growth in Cochrane bogs up essential travel on these highways too.
No more development should be contemplated until the provincial highways and all roadways in town are designed to properly move locals and outside travel smoothly in and out of Cochrane. So, I suggest the town development manager work with the province to ensure the highways are addressed first, and consider more development second. It is hard to imagine how doubling the growth of this town will improve quality of life, which the Town of Cochrane needs to remember, was the primary goal for the majority of people who live here or who moved to this town.
Wendy Procter
