I read your front page article on the last-minute cancellation of the Criterion bike race.
I live in a condo in downtown St Albert (one of seven in the area) mostly inhabited by senior citizens. We choose to live here because of the services and accessibility. Over the course of the year, we are inconvenienced by numerous community events, such as the Children’s Festival, Rodeo parade, Farmers' Market, Rockin’ August, Christmas Light Up, numerous races and all the concerts and programs at the Arden. Parking is at a premium and road closures are frequent. We’ve learned to live with it.
However, most of these events are well publicized and we often receive advance notices to post in our condos to advise visitors and residents.
We knew nothing about the Sunday bike race which would have resulted in total or partial closure of ALL the roads in the downtown core. A chance notice on Facebook alerted me to the event and when I contacted an organizer about why we were not informed ahead of time it was clear they had not thought about the impact road closures would have on the residents in the area.
While I think the bike race could be a valuable asset for St. Albert I do question whether the downtown is an appropriate venue. It is unfortunate the race organizers are blaming the St. Albert Singers for the shut-down. Perhaps better communication with residents and awareness of other community events in the area could have prevented this situation from arising.
Janice McGregir, St. Albert
