Something has to be done about the back alley between Second and Third streets NW, council recently heard.
Dave Lewis, president of the Foothills Terrace Condominium Association, outlined to council during its Sept. 12 meeting some ongoing issues that need to be resolved.
“The whole exercise tonight would be a chance to get together with members of council and discuss the situation and maybe we can come to some terms,” he said.
Reading from a prepared letter addressed to council, Lewis said the alley has 11 businesses backing into it. Employees generally use available space for parking and all of the businesses there “use delivery trucks to bring in their goods,” he said.
The public also uses the back alley extensively in order to access those businesses. Additionally, there are the residents of the condominium who use the alley to access the 24 units, he said.
“The 24 condo owners feel that the town should do something with the alley to stop the dust and control traffic…at least bring it to the table to acknowledge there is a problem here. We previously sent a letter to council on May the 9th, 2016, asking you to look into this problem, but to date, we have never received any answer.”
Lewis said he was presenting to council in the hopes of getting the ball rolling towards a collaborative discussion among business owners, condo residents as well as town officials.
“Maybe we can reach some kind of a solution — even if it's a little one. Because right now, it's very frustrating with the dust that comes up from that alley. And there are certain dangers involved. Maybe working together, we can do something about it,” he told council.
Mayor Terry Leslie expressed appreciation for Lewis's “well laid-out” and “straightforward” presentation.
“From our point of view, we would generally accept this request for information, and then we would leave it to administration to set up a time to meet and continue with further discussions to try and come to a solution that would be best for everybody,” he told Lewis.
The mayor also extended an apology regarding the first letter the association had sent in May, telling Lewis it had not come to his attention. He then asked whether any members of council had any further questions or comments.
Coun. Myron Thompson said he would advise Lewis to add the potholes plaguing the back alley to the condominium association's list of concerns.
“The potholes have always been a problem that they have brought to me personally — not just the condo people but anybody in town that uses it — and we've had to contact the town officials to grade this alley more than I think we should have to contact them,” he said.
Grading that back alley should be done on an as-needed basis, not a regularly scheduled date, the councillor said.
“Those needs vary because of weather. There's nothing worse than the rainstorms we're getting to deteriorate an alley that's used to the extent that is, because it's used like a street.”
Thompson also expressed support for the idea of setting up a meeting, and added the “danger factor” in that alley should also be included in the discussion.
“I had a very close call myself with a condo resident coming out of their garage…if either one of us would have been in a hurry, there would have been a crash, I can guarantee it.”
Council carried a motion to accept Lewis's presentation and letter as information, and further directed administration to set up a time to get together to begin discussing possible solutions.
