I would like to thank all of you for your patience this summer.
It has been a very busy season for road construction projects in and around Cochrane. There is paving work that has been ongoing on Highway 1 for months now and they have been directing motorists to use Highway 1A as an alternate. Not the best of ideas in my opinion, as it has just put further pressure on the Highway 1A and 22 intersection.
In town, we have completed roadwork at the entrance to the Cochrane RancheHouse and the Sunset Ridge community. This was a requirement from Alberta Transportation in order to keep the entrance “right in – right out” as opposed to closing it all together.
In our downtown core, work has been moving along very well on the improvements to Railway Street, Glenbow Drive and Fifth Avenue. Most of the curb and gutter work is complete and paving is slated to begin Aug. 10.
We have what we call an “infrastructure renewal program”: every year we allocate between $1.7 and $2 million towards projects like this to keep our streets and sidewalks in the best condition we can. The town provides one third of the monies for these projects and the rest comes from the Basic Municipal Tax Grant (or fuel tax as it is sometimes called), which is allocated to Cochrane based on our population. This year, Cochrane received $1,242,480 and we can expect that that number will go up again next year as we continue to grow.
As part of the ‘Connecting Cochrane’ plan, the town is refining various options and a long-term strategy, including local roads where capacity issues are shown. The long-term strategy for Fifth Avenue and the downtown area is to promote a variety of mobility options for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, and again, thank you for the patience you have shown.
Drive safely.
