St. Albertans have two weeks left to comment on four proposed traffic calming projects.
Sept. 20 is the deadline for residents and property owners in Northridge, Mission, Oakmont and Riverside to fill out an online survey.
The feedback the city receives “will help determine if the program will move forward in your area,” according to an advertisement.
Complaints about the movement of vehicles have come in from each of the four neighbourhoods. For a traffic calming program to proceed in a given neighbourhood, the city must receive responses from 40 per cent of households with 55 per cent or more in favour.
Traffic-calming measures, such as raised crosswalks, narrowed lanes and traffic circles have appeared in St. Albert in the last 10 years, most recently on Lennox Drive.
If a neighbourhood supports traffic calming, the project advances to the planning and development stage, which includes:
- Identifying specific issues;
- Developing options for traffic calming;
- Collecting more resident feedback;
- Finalizing a plan; and
- Polling residents for support for the plan.
If there’s enough support, city council will be asked to decide whether to fund the work through the municipal budget.
Northridge
The city has heard the most concern about North Ridge Drive, which is the main roadway in the neighbourhood, but there have also been concerns about Newmarket Way.
“The larger volume of public/resident concern is related to vehicle and pedestrian movements on North Ridge Drive,” according to an RFP issued earlier this year.
Riverside
In Riverside, the city wants to focus traffic-calming engagement and planning on two neighbourhood roads: Riverside Drive and Rankin Drive.
“In 2023, the city advanced installation of temporary curb extensions at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Rankin Drive to address pedestrian and driver visibility concerns with the skewed intersection,” the RFP reads. “The measures have not been evaluated and will need to be acknowledged and verified for impacts, as well as public opinion.”
Oakmont
Traffic-calming measures in Oakmont are expected to be limited to certain segments of Oakridge Drive South, which transitions into Oak Vista Drive and vice-versa near the Otter Crescent intersection, according to the RFP.
“Although the full community of Oakmont is not anticipated to be evaluated for traffic calming, the process may involve feedback from residents that pertains to areas outside of the specified roadway of Oak Vista Drive [and] Oakridge Drive South,” the RFP reads. “The focus of this project, however, will be engagement with the direct residents and adjoining local road residents on/from Oak Vista Drive and Oakridge Drive South.”
Mission
St. Albert is considering temporary traffic-calming actions in the Mission neighbourhood, specifically along Mission Avenue and St. Vital Avenue.
“The larger volume of public/resident concern is related to vehicle and pedestrian movements on Mission Avenue; however, the anticipated full engagement of the community may identify other areas and corridors for review.”
