The Sundre & District Chamber of Commerce executive is looking for feedback from residents on how to create a safer place for pedestrians on Main Avenue.
Chamber officials are working with the Town of Sundre and Alberta Transportation to investigate possible solutions to the safety issue, according to Mike Beukeboom, president of the chamber.
He said since Alberta Transportation officials changed the two-lane avenue to four lanes about six years ago, it has become unsafe for pedestrians.
“The Number 1 priority for the chamber of commerce is pedestrian safety,” said Beukeboom. “It's absolutely absurd that someone is walking down the road and inside of 24 inches a truck mirror passes by your head going anywhere from 40 to 60 kilometres per hour. That is unacceptable.”
He is unsure at this point what the solution will be, whether the road should go back to two lanes or a barrier be built to create distance between pedestrians and traffic.
He made it a point that the four-lane stretch is in town only, but when entering and leaving town the road is two lanes.
“All we really have done is push the traffic on top of our pedestrians,” he said.
He believes many people have stopped walking on Main Avenue since it has become a four-lane roadway.
“We have seen a significant impact economically to the community and the retail businesses along Main Avenue,” he said, adding the road infrastructure is also a hazard.
“Those outside lanes cannot handle the big truck traffic and they are constantly breaking up. That creates another safety hazard and that's road debris flying off the road,” he said.
There have been two cases where rocks have flown through windows of businesses on Main Avenue, and people have been hit with debris, mud and water when walking down the street, he said.
If Main Avenue was pedestrian friendly, it would not only attract more tourists, but also residents of the community to the downtown area, he noted.
“Main Avenue in Sundre has no longer become a destination – an area that will attract walking traffic. It really is keeping people away,” he said.
“If we can create that downtown core that has the feel of a Bragg Creek, or of a Canmore, Blairmore – one of these beautiful foothills towns or mountain towns that people want to explore…But most importantly, we want to live in and create that space, that opportunity for our own residents and community members to come into downtown.”
Officials have consulted with various businesses along Main Avenue and would like to have some sort of plan in place before winter.
“It's in no one's best interest to delay this project.”
He is asking for residents to provide feedback by calling the Visitor Information Centre at 403-638-3245 or emailing [email protected].
