Residents along Parkwood Drive and Portman Place will be inconvenienced for roughly three months this summer as the roadways are reconstructed.
A total of 58 homes will be affected, including all homes along Portman Place and residences on Parkwood Drive between Park Avenue and Poirier Avenue.
“Roads are like any other piece of infrastructure,” said Tracy Allen, director of engineering with the City of St. Albert. “Eventually, they all need to be replaced.”
The city held the first of two open houses Tuesday where residents were invited to learn about the project and provide feedback.
The budget for the road reconstruction is set at $2.3 million and includes a full removal and replacement of the road surface along Parkwood Drive and a portion of Portman Place. Driveway aprons and pedestrian ramps in this area will also be replaced, with spot repairs made to sidewalks.
Most of Portman Place will receive a new asphalt surface, in addition to replaced sections of concrete curb and gutter.
Access to driveways will be prohibited during the reconstruction, forcing residents to park in nearby residential areas. Parking nearest the construction areas will be set aside for handicapped parking and unloading. Sidewalks will remain open during road closures.
“We do understand and appreciate the inconvenience this is going to cause (residents) but it’s, at the end of the day, less intrusive than us coming back every year and doing major repairs on the road,” Allen said.
Val Petrone, a resident on Portman Place for 20 years, said several spot repairs have been performed in recent years, adding the reconstruction is necessary.
“The road has to be done,” she said. “It’s going to be an imposition, but it’s for the common good.”
Finding parking is her main concern, as residents could be forced to walk long distances to reach their homes. Petrone said this would make simple tasks like transporting groceries more difficult.
She also expressed concerns regarding safety and security, as parking vehicles away from home could make them a target for vandals and could make residents vulnerable when walking to and from their vehicles at night.
Judy Mikalonis has lived on Portman Place for 24 years and said her primary concern is parking, especially for residents with reduced mobility.
“It’s going to be a major inconvenience, it really is. We’re not looking forward to it,” she said.
When a construction firm is selected by the city, a schedule will be drafted detailing the various phases of construction and how residents will be impacted.
This information will be presented at the project’s second open house, slated for sometime in May.
Allen said construction is estimated to take roughly three months and will likely begin in the weeks following summer dismissal from school.
She said St. Albert Transit will provide alternate routes during the construction phase, while garbage pick-up and emergency access will not be affected.
The city reconstructs one local or commuter road each year. Last year, Delage Crescent was reconstructed at a cost of $1.3 million.
“We really focus on having a really good pavement management system database so we can do as much preventative maintenance as possible,” Allen said.
