Many people in Cochrane believe (and have written letters to the editor on this topic) that if town council either stopped or at least slowed down development in the municipality that it would help manage the area’s growing traffic issues – but is it that simple?
The majority of councillors who responded to the Eagle believe that slowing or placing a moratorium on development in Cochrane would not be a good idea, and in fact be damaging to the community.
“If Cochrane does not plan our growth, Calgary and Rocky View County will plan the shape of Cochrane for us,” said Coun. Ross Watson, who feels that placing a halt to development would damage the prospects of Cochrane becoming a well-planned town.
Mayor Ivan Brooker and Coun. Jeff Toews both pointed to potential tax increases on current residents if development was hindered.
Brooker said tax revenue from developers that come to Cochrane to build is where a large portion of the town’s funding comes from for necessary services, such as the new Bow River bridge, which will connect the Riversong/River Heights community with the town centre, the new RCMP building and basic road improvements within Cochrane’s boundaries.
“To the best of our ability, we build our roads to standard for the development being approved,” Brooker said, adding that if the town simply stopped approving developments, ‘they would not be doing justice to the residents who already live in the area.’
Brooker pointed to the Southbow Landing development as a prime example, saying that if the sizeable neighbourhood plan was not approved, residents living in Riversong and River Heights would have to pay for the new Bow bridge on their own and that the plan never was for Cochrane residents to pay for the project, but rather have development foot the bill.
“We don’t pay for roads, parks, pathways and school sites,” Brooker said, “developers do.”
Coun. Mary Lou Davis said Cochrane’s ‘growth spurt’ started 20 years ago, with a new arena, schools, more businesses and subdivisions being built for a growing community.
“And so, how to pay for all of this?” Davis queried, saying the choice is simple: more money from the taxpayer, or more people to help pay those taxes. “We choose more people. Unfortunately, infrastructure is slow to catch up due to costs, planning and approvals.”
As for the always-contentious matter of Highway 1A and 22, and the intersection, Brooker said a stop to development could have a negative impact on the town’s efforts.
“If we put a halt on everything,” he said, “where would the pressure come from on the province to twin the 1A and 22?”
Coun. Toews said he believes stopping growth would have no effect on traffic congestion on Highway 1A and 22.
“Highway 1A and 22 would still be getting busier whether we stop growth or not due to the growth in Rocky View County and Calgary,” Toews said.
One councillor, however, says he has a plan to help ease traffic in and around Cochrane.
Though admittedly in the pre-preliminary stages when it comes to his ideas, Coun. Morgan Nagel provided a three-point plan, each designed to help take some vehicles off the roads.
The first would be for council to ask for and approve more single-family homes in new developments in Cochrane as opposed to townhomes and other high-density dwellings; an effort Nagel feels would lessen the amount of units being built in the community, resulting in less people moving to the area.
Transit is another area Nagel would like to revisit.
The first-time councillor said a more robust regional transit system, one that brought Cochrane residents into Calgary in greater numbers could take several vehicles off the roads.
The amount of motorists funneling into Cochrane during peak times of day (roughly 4-6 p.m.) is one of the major contributors to the town’s traffic woes.
Nagel’s third idea is one he said he has not discussed with anyone else as of yet, but would like to look into more closely – and that would be to make a one-time deal with the province that if they upgrade Highway 1A and 22 and the intersection, that the ‘Town’ of Cochrane would become the ‘City’ of Cochrane, and therefore be responsible for maintaining the roads from then on out.
“We would then own those highways,” Nagel said.
Nagel added that at the very least, the town needs to allocate more money toward road infrastructure.
“We have to indicate to administration that we want to spend more money on traffic issues,” Nagel said of council.
Mayor Brooker said that the Town of Cochrane has had road studies conducted on its internal thoroughfares and surrounding provincial highways, and that the study concluded that the only roads that failed were Highway 1A and 22 during peak times – none of Cochrane’s internal roads failed the study.
Both Toews and Nagel agreed that the current level of growth Cochrane has been experiencing had been a challenge to deal with and could prove to be unsustainable.
“Do we need it at 11 per cent?” Toews questioned. “Probably not, and I think a five or six per cent growth rate would be more manageable.”
“The growth we’ve been having has been unsustainable,” Nagel concurred, agreeing that six per cent would be adequate.
Nagel, however, does feel that slowing development down would be ‘completely reasonable’ and that he would advocate for the town to make efforts toward doing so.
“We need to stop looking at new residents as a means of revenue,” Nagel added, saying that if the town planned on more modest growth, financial pressures would ease.
Nagel said he believes that with the current economic downturn in Alberta, the number of new people looking to relocate to Cochrane will naturally start to diminish in the coming years, but the town will still see growth.
Mayor Brooker said new Banff-Cochrane MLA Cameron Westhead experienced what Cochrane traffic was all about last Monday.
Westhead was one of several motorist who were delayed and ended up being stuck in heavy traffic congestion on Highway 1A after a fatal collision closed the Trans-Canada Aug. 24. Westhead, along with Calgary-Northern Hills MLA Jamie Kleinsteuber, were stuck in traffic for hours.
Brooker said Westhead informed him the very next day that a meeting had been set for him and Brooker to meet with Minster of Transportation and Infrastructure Brian Mason to discuss Highway 1A and 22 and the intersection, which is expected to happen sometime this month or in October.
“As a town, we must continue to plan as well as we can to deal with the growth,” said Toews. “(We must) be prepared to adapt our strategies in an ever-changing environment and continue to pressure the provincial government to do something about the 1A and 22.”
Coun. Tara McFadden said stopping development or placing a cap on the town’s population (like Okotoks did in 1998) could harm the community and hinder Cochrane’s ability to create a sustainable and affordable municipality.
“The key to growth in Cochrane is to make sure we grow on our terms,” she said, “and to make sure that our growth decisions aren’t just about today, but make sense 10, 15, 50 years into the future.”
Coun. Watson said the town must continue molding its own image, and that without growth and development, Cochrane would never be able to build a pool, a new bridge over the Bow River or a parks system.
“We would become a community without resources within a larger metropolitan region,” he said.
“I like our stance of seizing the opportunity to be the masters of our own destiny.”
