COCHRANE— At the Monday (Oct. 26) council meeting, $12.9 million was approved to support highway and local roadway improvements to help alleviate the town's traffic congestion.
The $12.9 million earmarked by the Town will be used to complete highway transportation upgrades for $8.62 million and a realignment of 4th Avenue to 5th Avenue for $3.12 million in 2021, with additional construction and engineering for $885,000 paired with town enhancements on highway transportation upgrades for $275,000 in 2022.
The upgrades will be funded using provincial grants, off-site levies and debt.
Interim chief administration officer Drew Hyndman said the upgrades will play a key role in helping ease Cochrane’s traffic flow troubles.
“There’s been a great deal of work in the background regarding this project. We’re very excited about and the outcomes it could bring our communities,” Hyndman said. “This is a comprehensive traffic solution for Highway 1A … This is a strategic investment that the Town is making that will work very well with other transportation plans.”
The infrastructure project was made possible through Municipal Stimulus Program funding— The Town was eligible for $3.48 million in funding. The primary objective of the program is to provide additional capital infrastructure funding to municipalities to create local jobs, enhancing provincial competitiveness and productivity, position communities for future economic growth and reduce red-tape.
Projects awarded stimulus funds must begin construction in 2020 or 2021.
Hyndman said the realignment of 4th and 5th avenue will directly help with traffic mitigation. The Town is proposing the realignment to create efficiencies on the road that in turn will “eliminate the bottlenecks” at the bottom of Cochrane Hill by distributing traffic across town quicker.
“A number of people when they talk about Cochrane they talk about being at the top of the hill, seeing that view, seeing the community and feeling like they’ve arrived home,” Hyndman said. “When people get to the bottom of the hill we want them to have that same sense they’ve arrived home and that there’s a special feeling and character to this highway network.”
Traffic mitigation plans are needed in Cochrane, said Councillor Morgan Nagel, because traffic and congestion continues to be the number one issue in town
“We have grown rapidly and our infrastructure is starting to catch up,” he said. “There’s been so much focus on the 1A and 22 intersection that it has kind of become a local myth, that it’s the only thing that needed to be fixed to deal with all of local traffic— But, the bottom of the hill is probably even more frustrating.”
Raising concerns about the cost of the project Coun. Marni Fedeyko said her chief concern is the upgrades do not affect taxpayers in the community.
“I’m in full support of this project, but just as Coun. Nagel said it’s an awfully large number,” Fedeyko said. “I think that people are willing to pay for traffic solutions, it’s just more on the end of what they’re going to have to pay.”
Fedeyko called the upgrades a “win-win” solution as it will help with traffic and have a minimal impact on taxpayers.
Traffic remains the number one priority for council and starting infrastructure upgrades “have been a long, long, long road," said Mayor Jeff Genung.
While the project does entail a significant amount of money it will play a critical role in off-setting traffic. Genung noted the majority of construction will be paid for using off-site levies and Municipal Stimulus Program funding.
The upgrades have been a project that has been talked about for many years, including work at the Centre Avenue intersection. Genung added approving the funds serves to simply move it forward in the capital plan which has already been financed and accounted for in the budget.
“While this is one piece of the puzzle to help with our … Transportation infrastructure,” Genung said.
Since he was a child, Genung said, the Town has been waiting on the province to move forward on highway improvements in Cochrane.
“This shift is significant it means that our community is no longer waiting,” Genung said. “We are going to take action and seize the opportunity while we continue to wait for the 1A and 22.”
The Town has been putting pressure on the province to begin upgrades on the much maligned intersection, he said, but they are looking to take control of traffic mitigation solutions when possible.
“We at this point are saying we will build that infrastructure, we manage our own destiny, we will take control of our own road going through our community and upgrade ourselves with our own timeline,” Genung said. “We need to take the bull by the horns and this really is what this is doing.”
A Facebook Live event will be taking place on Thursday (Nov. 5) to provide information on the planned transportation improvements in town.
