Morinville residents will get to help plan future roads and trails this month as the town starts work on a new transportation master plan.
The Town of Morinville launched an online survey last Friday to ask residents what should go into its new transportation master plan. The $180,000 plan, when finished, will set out what roads, trails, and other bits of movement-related infrastructure the town should build over the next 10 to 15 years.
The town’s current plan was written in 2004 and is out of date, said town planning and economic development director Brad White. There’s no mention in it of the Morinville Leisure Centre, the town’s two soon-to-open new schools, regional plans by the Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board, or the considerable economic and population growth that’s happened since then. It doesn’t mention trails either – it’s completely car-centric.
The new plan will be the first in town to account for multiple modes of transportation, including walking, cycling, and transit, White said.
“You want to have a vibrant community,” he said, and that means planning for more than just cars. You need to account for the kids who bike to school, the seniors who walk to the store, and, in the future, the people who take public transit.
It will also take a new approach to trails, White said. Instead of the scenic, “meandering” ones of the past, new trails will be built with destinations in mind so people can use them to get around town in addition to recreation.
The online survey asks residents to weigh in on the 13 “big ideas” for transportation laid out by the 2017 Mobility Strategy, which looked at walking, cycling, traffic safety, and sidewalks. It also asks for their top three transportation concerns and for their top 10 picks for new trail segments that would most benefit residents.
White said town staffers will also be at community events such as the Made in Morinville Fall Show on Oct. 18 at the Community Cultural Centre to talk with locals about transportation.
“The residents are the experts on the ground,” White said, and their knowledge will help shape this transportation plan.
Mayor Barry Turner said he has been hearing a lot about traffic concerns related to the proposed roundabouts of the Highway 642 functional planning study and the Morinville Leisure Centre in recent weeks.
“We’ve got some gaps in our trail system, particularly going south to the new school (St. Kateri Tekakwitha),” he said, and the potential for more drivers using East Boundary Road to get to the leisure centre.
Turner said council wants to hear from residents about the “pinch-points” they see in Morinville’s transportation network so they can address them through the town’s capital plans.
Once this consultation wraps up Oct. 18, White said he hopes to have a draft plan before council by the end of the year. If approved, council would then have to tweak area structure plans and work with developers to fit the new rules. Actual on-the-ground effects are probably two years away.
The survey is at bit.ly/2mylkS1.
