By Coun. Tara McFadden
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
It’s a Winston Churchill quote and if applied to Cochrane, we must be working on perfect.
There is a lot happening in Cochrane. The Jack Tennant Memorial Bridge is on schedule and on budget. Summer construction projects are underway and include road and pathway work along George Fox Trail, Griffin Road, and James Walker Trail.
Staff are working to get the approvals for the CPR whistle cessation at the Horse Creek Road crossing of the railway and it is expected that this much anticipated path will be open soon.
Cochrane’s application to annex the lands north of Sunset and next to Horse Creek Road was approved by the province. This step allows for the construction of a second access by the developer in Sunset Ridge during Phase 3 and to start implementing the vision of a sports park on Horse Creek Road that will meet our growing recreation needs.
The province continues to work towards the Highway 1A and 22 interchange with archeological studies currently underway and design work to be completed this fall. The new government has yet to approve it, but the necessary steps are being taken, so I am hopeful.
Transformational projects continue into the fall with the introduction of transit. I am excited to see this made-in-Cochrane solution roll out and help people get around while also driving economic development.
Also this fall, council will review a plan that could see the creation of a transit hub, innovation center, and satellite town office in our downtown core.
Change can be challenging. I think what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better. And while change can be uncomfortable, the projects we are moving ahead are going to ensure that Cochrane remains a desirable place to live and grow.
