Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Of Traffic...... 



Traffic.  

A sure sign of a vibrant community.  

But frustrating to experience as we try to run downtown for groceries, cross the 22 and 1A intersection to get home or get stacked up at lights as we try to pick our kids up at school. 

And as more people move to town and more business open up in Cochrane, we're only going to get more vehicles on our streets.  We're never going to see the traffic of a small town again, but what is Cochrane going to do about it?

The big problem of course is the 22 & 1A intersection.  

The highways and this intersection are provincial and under Alberta Transportation authority.  We all know this intersection is "failing".  It's not only a Cochrane road but a regional intersection and we've all seen how far the traffic gets backed up at peak times.  This has been something that councils have been lobbying on for close to 20 years.  Cochrane had managed to get this added to the provinces 3 year plan and things were moving ahead for the twinning on the highway through town and the major upgrade of the intersection.  And then the recession hit.  And the province relocated the monies and we're off the 3 year plan and back to lobbying.  Every time I see our MLA, Ron Casey, I bring this up and he assures me that every time he sees the Transportation Minister, he mentions it.  What this means for us, is that the needed major upgrades are off the table and the best we can try for are tweaks.  I can't use the Nenshi adjectives to describe my thoughts on this.  

The other challenge of course is how traffic moves through our downtown and we can do something about that.  So what are we doing?  Of course there is no quick fix, or it would have been done.  But here's a partial list.

  • Developing a multi-model plan.  Planner language for how we can move pedestrians, bikes and vehicles around.  This plan is in the works and will provide options to improve movement.
  • An intersection study is in the budget for 2014.  (New council, don't cancel this!)  This will evaluate key intersections in town and make recommendations for changes to improve them.  We all have thoughts on which lights should have advance greens!  
  • Working with the province on access issues to 1A & 22 as interim solutions before the major upgrade.  If it ever happens.  Staff are trying to convince AB Transportation to install traffic signals at 1A & Centre Ave.  If approval happens, this could possibly be implemented in 2014.  
  • Our Downtown Plan - recently approved - a big portion of this plan looks at how to connect the 2 down towns across the tracks and improve connectivity and access, not only for vehicles, but for bikers and walkers.  (As someone who has tried to push a stroller downtown for groceries, it's way past due!)
  • And staff are continuously looking at the traffic flows and trying to find improvements, but the truth is, that as we grow, so does our traffic.

I wish I could provide the easy answer with a quick solution, but I can't.  Traffic is going to be an ongoing issue that Cochrane is going to struggle with.  But know that I share your frustration as I get stuck at the railway crossing or get lined up on the hill trying to get home.

Best,

Tara















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