The full scope of the Centre Street North project ó initially pitched as a total makeover that would feature two, double-wide north- and southbound lanes as well as a boulevard with trees running down the middle of the road ó will for the foreseeable future remain but a fanciful pipe dream.
As it turns out, the $2.2-million first phase of the project was only to replace underground infrastructure, extend the regional walking path, and repave the surface of the road. Most of the work is already complete, but some landscaping, the paved path, as well as a final layer of asphalt on the road ó known as a lift ó will be finished in the spring.
The second phase, also expected to cost about $2.2 million, will herald the addition of the boulevard and double-wide lanes. But that work will depend entirely on whether developers, who would largely pay for that construction, commit to expanding Sundre's northeast residential area.
"That'll happen whenever the developers come and start developing. That could be 10 years from now, could be two years from now. But it's driven by the development to the north," Vic Pirie, director of finance and administration, told council last month.
So now, southbound motorists who are driving down Centre Street into Sundre might get the impression they're heading straight into oncoming traffic up until 6th Avenue, when the road widens up again. There's no question about it, the redesign looks out of place and some residents are not particularly impressed.
"I'm sure at the time if the town's intentions were clearly communicated, residents who live in the NE would have pushed back," commented Marc Gamelin on a social media post discussing the issue.
Former councillor Chris Vardas also offered his two cents in that group conversation, even going so far as accepting a share of responsibility for not making sure the plans were crystal clear before voting in favour of the project.
"If we would have known the scope of the project would end up the way it is today, I'm confident that the council of the day would have had discussions about replacing the infrastructure and re-paving the road at a lower cost," he posted.
"As a former council member I accept part of the blame for not questioning the project enough as well as not making the clarification clear."
The municipality's administration issued a statement in response to concerns raised by the community.
"Last year, members of the town administration claimed that the street lanes would be made wider during this first phase; this was an unfortunate and unintentional miscommunication," reads the media release.
"The street will in fact be made wider once the lanes are twinned with the addition of a future centre median, which could be several years awayÖThe majority of the costs for the future expansion will be recovered from developers through the payment of required off-site levies and/or boundary costs."
So the good news is the awful potholes are gone and taxpayers will not be on the hook for the eventual expansion. The bad news is when the second phase actually occurs is anyone's guess.
Visit www.sundre.com/centre-street-statement.html for the municipality's full statement.
ó Simon Ducatel is the Round Up's editor
