The North Ridge, Riverside, Oakmont, and Mission neighbourhoods have all been identified as possibly needing traffic calming devices installed, according to a new request for proposals (RFP) published by the city.
Traffic-calming devices, such as speed bumps, traffic circles, and curb extensions, are all intended to slow the speed of traffic and improve pedestrian safety.
Several neighbourhoods in St. Albert have had such devices installed in the past decade, including Grandin and Erin Ridge. The most recent traffic-calming project was on Lennox Drive in 2019, when the city temporarily installed curb extensions and crosswalk warning lights to address traffic concerns before making the measures permanent in 2022.
The RFP recently published by the city says traffic safety concerns and complaints have been received from residents of North Ridge, Riverside, Oakmont, and Mission in recent years, and the city is looking to hire a contractor to start the process of engaging residents and designing traffic-calming measures suitable to each neighbourhood.
The Gazette's interview request for the city's transportation manager Dean Schick was denied, as city communications spokesperson Pamela Osborne said any comments from the city or a staff member about the project “could affect the integrity of the procurement and bidding process.”
“The City of St. Albert is dedicated to following a fair and transparent procurement competition process and may be able to answer questions once the contract is awarded,” Osborne said.
For North Ridge, the RFP states 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,” the RFP states. It adds there are roughly 17 intersections on the road, which has street-facing homes, on-street parking, sidewalks on both sides of the road, and bus stops throughout.
In Riverside, the RFP said 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.”
The RFP said both Riverside Drive and Rankin Drive also feature street-facing homes, on-street parking, and sidewalks on both sides of the road. Unlike North Ridge, the Riverside neighbourhood is not currently serviced by public transit, although the city expects to introduce new transit routes in the neighbourhood this summer.
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.”
The roadway, like the previous examples, also features street-facing homes, on-street parking, sidewalks, and bus stops. There are about 15 intersections along the road.
According to the RFP, the city is only looking at provisional, or temporary, traffic-calming needs 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,” the RFP reads.
Both Mission Avenue and St. Vital Avenue have the same features as the roads mentioned previously, including bus stops.
In line with the city's Neighbourhood Traffic Calming policy, the successful contractor to be awarded the project contract will be responsible for administering a neighbourhood support survey early on in the process to verify residents have traffic safety concerns, before moving on to more complete neighbourhood engagement including possible strategies and ideas for addressing concerns.
After the public engagement is complete, the consultant will then create a final recommended traffic-calming plan, and if accepted and supported through even more public engagement, the consultant will submit preliminary designs with initial cost estimates to the city.
Once the preliminary designs are received, the city will include a construction project for council's consideration in an upcoming annual budget. The RFP says the successful bidder will be expected to complete their responsibilities before the end of March 2025.
