CHESTERMERE – The pathway that runs adjacent to West Merganser Drive could receive a major upgrade if a new enhancement project moves forward as planned.
The current infrastructure along West Merganser was intended to be temporary, as it was planned that the road would one day be expanded to four lanes. However, the current traffic counts have determined that widening Merganser is unnecessary, so Town staff have been busy putting together a solution for the area.
Municipal planner Alan Boucher said that the main goal is to increase the safety and infrastructure in the area, as well as create a usable space for the public.
“We want to move the path to the south side, and make it into a regional trail by enhancing the green space in the area,” he said. “It’s wouldn’t be a park where you could go and play soccer or anything like that, it would be more of a place to go when jogging, biking or walking your dog.”
Boucher said that they are looking into different kinds of landscape designs, as well as the possibility of an outdoor exercise circuit with pull-up bars, benches, and posted instructions on how to use the equipment.
“The Town is trying to promote active recreation, and so this kind of trail with the outdoor equipment fits well into the design,” he said. “Council has a vision of Chestermere being the recreation and relaxation capital of Alberta, and having good regional pathways and open spaces is critical to that,”
Boucher said that besides making the area into more of a green space, they would also fix the roadway, curbs and drainage issues.
“The project isn’t about just putting a path in, it’s about fixing up the entire area and making a major street in town look more attractive,” he said. “The Town prides itself on its upkeep, and it’s a bit of sore spot right now, so we hope this will improve the area.
“We also think it will provide a good balance of pedestrian and vehicle access.”
Boucher said that twinning the roadway would be an expensive project, and that it would be unnecessary for amount of traffic that currently uses the road.
“This is a more cost-effective way of fixing the infrastructure in the area,” he said.
The path on the north side of Merganser would be removed so that the drainage could be fixed. It would the be replaced with sod. The new winding path would run on the south side of the road from West Chestermere Drive to West Creek Boulevard.
The reasons for moving the path to the other side are for safety, because there is currently no separation between vehicles and pedestrians, and because pedestrians were sometimes at risk for being hit by golf balls.
Flooding and ice were also a problem in the area, and the original path was also difficult to access and upkeep by Chestermere Public Works.
There will be a project open house on Nov. 23 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Town Hall, where staff will be on hand to collect comments from the public.
“We will be presenting the concept design, collecting feedback on it, and then we will go to Council for a decision to move forward or not,” Boucher said. “We will then incorporate feedback from Council and the public into our detailed design if we do get to move forward.”
For more details about the project or to provide feedback, go to HYPERLINK “https://sites.google.com/site/westmerganserdrive/home”https://sites.google.com/site/westmerganserdrive/home.
