There was a mixed bag of emotions expressed last week during the public open house to address questions about the impending Main Avenue pilot project.
Alberta Transportation representatives attended the Wednesday, May 3 meeting at the Sundre Community Centre to provide guidance to any residents who might be uncertain about how to manoeuvre around the mini roundabouts.
About 100 people attended, not all of them beaming with enthusiasm.
While some residents expressed concerns about navigating the traffic calming measures, how the trial project would be monitored to determine whether the redesign is successful, and how snow would be dealt with during the winter, a handful were displeased by a perceived lack of public consultation that led to this point.
However, the pilot project, which could be deployed ahead of the Sundre Pro Rodeo later this June, did not materialize out of thin air overnight.
Following the 2008 reconfiguration to four lanes on Main Avenue, the community ó including residents and businesses ó began to express serious concerns about the extremely close proximity between pedestrians walking along the sidewalks as massive industrial rigs pass by barely inches away.
Those fears never faded. Taking the community's concerns to heart, the municipality began about two years ago the process to engage and lobby Alberta Transportation officials ó with support from the local chamber of commerce ó to find a suitable homegrown solution to improve pedestrian safety while maintaining a steady flow of traffic.
Last year, Alberta Transportation consulted stakeholders, local businesses and finally the community. Following surveys, the most favourable of five options presented to industry, businesses and residents was identified as the three mini roundabouts, which council later went on to approve.
Despite all the groundwork that has been laid to date, some residents remain convinced the temporary project will be an abject failure.
"I think it's a total waste of time and money," said Lyle Gorsline.
"People are not going to get used to it. The cheapest and best answer to (the safety concern) is, from bridge to bridge, put the speed limit at 30 k(ph)."
However, there are also those who retained an open mind, including Bill McGhie, a former commander of the Sundre RCMP detachment.
"We'll just have to wait and see what the results will be. There could be negatives, but whether those outweigh the positives is hard to say."
Others, like Laurie Waltham, cannot wait for the redesign that will provide ample room for pedestrians to walk around comfortably downtown.
"I think it's a good idea ó anything to make it safer downtown. It can be scary just to cross the street!"
Throughout the duration of the trial project, Alberta Transportation will be keeping in touch with municipal officials to monitor progress and determine one year from its deployment whether the redesign could be considered a success.
Stuart Richardson, Alberta Transportation infrastructure manager, told the crowd that barring any major and unforeseen problems, the next step in the process will be to permanently install roundabouts.
The local business community, which although not without some reservations, is largely looking forward to seeing how the project works out, said Mike Beukeboom, president of the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce.
"For us, safety's the number 1 issue," he told the Round Up during a phone interview.
"We have to create a buffer between pedestrians and vehicle traffic, and this option provides that."
Beyond the issue of pedestrian comfort and safety, local businesses experienced a negative economic blowblack following the transition to four lanes with no parking from two lanes with parking, he said.
"That was literally devastating to our business community. Looking at this pilot project, we really have to give it a try. We absolutely do."
Although the chamber president expressed enthusiasm for the Main Avenue redesign, he also called it putting the cart before the horse in some ways.
"We have to deal with the high-load corridor in a more responsible way."
That means engaging the provincial government sooner rather than later to initiate a discussion regarding the need for a second bridge so industrial traffic can simply bypass Sundre altogether, he said.
In the meantime, the Town of Sundre, Mountain View County, Alberta Transportation as well as the local chamber will be keeping a real close eye on gravel trucks and other heavy loads that come through the municipality, he said.
