OLDS — Town council wrestled Monday with a thorny question: whether funds to construct a trail should go instead to largely rebuild a long-standing bumpy patch of 57th Avenue.
The issue was first raised during council’s Sept. 6 policies and priorities meeting, then during its Sept. 12 regular council meeting.
Chief administrative officer Brent Williams raised the matter.
Williams noted that a planned 2022 Town of Olds project to revamp a bumpy section of 57th Avenue just north of the hospital and Seasons Encore came in way higher than anticipated.
“We budgeted 95 (thousand dollars). It came back at $200,000 I believe, so we shelved it,” he said during an interview with the Albertan.
Williams suggested that the town could take $70,000, most of which was earmarked for constructing a walking trail from Duncan Place west to the pond in the Highlands and use it to largely revamp that bumpy section of 57th Avenue.
He explained that the likelihood is that contractors wouldn’t be able to get the trail project done before the season ends.
Williams stressed the proposed patching on 57th Avenue wouldn’t be a complete fix. Paving would still have to be done, perhaps as part of the 2023 capital budget.
“The problem with that entire road, it’s an old county road, so it’s kind of – we call it blue clay,” Williams said during the Albertan interview.
“It’s like a mix of clay and topsoil and sand, so it’s not a good structure to build the road on, so eventually, it all needs to be rebuilt.”
During the Sept. 6 meeting, Coun. Wanda Blatz, mayor Judy Dahl and Coun. Dan Daley indicated they could live with that diversion of money, but also expressed a desire to make sure the trail project will be in next year’s capital budget.
“I just wanted to ensure that we would actually look at that trail replacement program for next year, in 2023, because I know there’s been several requests to have that trail extended,” Blatz said.
On the other hand, Coun. James Cummings expressed support for the diversion.
"I fully support removing funds from the pathway project to road repair,” he said. “Sure, we have a few people who want more trails, but I know we have a whole lot more people that want less potholes.”
Coun. Darren Wilson also supported diverting the funds to the 57th Avenue project.
The mayor echoed Blatz’s point.
“I’m not going to get into who wants what, but I will say that this has been carried over in previous years, prior to 2021 and I am tired of telling people that they’re not getting there,” she said.
Dahl said she could go along with the change as long as the trail project goes in the 2023 budget “because the people in the community that use those trails, ride on those trails, commute on those trails, deserve to have those trails.”
Daley echoed those sentiments.
“I’m leery of saying ‘take this $70,000, put it into road repair without having a guarantee that next year of having money available to do the path,” he said.
Daley asked why projects got so backed up.
Williams said weather was likely a factor. He described June and July as a “wet season.”
Dahl sympathized with those who want to ensure streets and roads in town are in good shape, but said there’s more to a community than that.
“We have to remember: we need a walkable community too,” she said.
Dahl guesstimated that trail extensions such as the Duncan Place one have been “on the books” for about six years but have continually been bumped in favour of street repairs.
Given the truncated season and the queue of construction work remaining to be completed, Deputy Mayor Heather Ryan wondered whether the 57th Avenue project will get done in time.
"That’s the problem or the risk. It may not get done. There’s always a risk, given the queue of work we have,” Williams said.
However, he said because no asphalt would be laid down under this scenario, the chance it could get completed is “better than 50/50; I’ll call it that.”
