City council added ensuring pathway connectivity to the list of community projects.
At the March 28 council meeting, Mayor Jeff Colvin explained that the city’s master transportation plan will be amended to include the pathway system throughout Chestermere.
The amendments would focus on widening or adding pathways by Rainbow Road, Chestermere Boulevard, the east side of Chestermere, the canal, and Range Road 284.
“We’re looking into new main road planning,” Colvin said.
He noted cities in Alberta and across Canada have been able to improve transportation and general infrastructure from grants and funding allocated from the provincial and federal governments.
“We’re considering adjusting Chestermere’s plan to build main roads first, make sure we have major roads that move traffic around, and then development occurs when the road is already built. Do things upfront, rather than it taking 20 to 30 years for it to happen, Colvin said. “That’s challenging for a growing city, it costs significant dollars, you can get grants, but you can only get so much.”
City administration is also in discussions with developers to connect pathways along Chestermere Boulevard from west Chestermere Drive to Range Road 284, for connectivity off of the highway.
“We have a really unique feature in Chestermere, which is our canal system, which allows people to ride where there are no cars,” Colvin said. “We want to get ahead, bring in connectivity for walkability for our residents early. It’s a good idea to get it away from the road and have distance away from the roadways.”
Colvin is hopeful to achieve a small resort town feel by widening some of the pathways, and allowing golf carts on the pathways, in addition to bicycles.
“Golf carts are a challenge because they are a bit slower for them to be on the main road as our off-highway vehicles are,” Colvin said.
City Councillor Blaine Funk noted that it’s extremely important the city’s transportation master plan and infrastructure are prepared for continued growth.
“This is something I’ve believed in for a very long time, historically when you look at the growth of major cities, the planning of roadways or major routes have lacked,” Funk said. “It would be good to have a master plan that’s looking 30 years forward.”
He added, planning for growth, and acquiring the land needed to ensure connectivity throughout the city shouldn’t be an afterthought.
“This planning is crucial, in acquiring land ahead of time. People are looking for alternate ways to commute to work, and having the lanes available, is crucial in our planning stage at this point,” Funk said.
City Councillor Shannon Dean expressed concerns about adding too many tasks to city administration’s docket, while the city is working on many community projects.
“There’s a lot of very good ideas here, and a lot for us to do. I’m wondering if we’re putting too much in at the moment when there are some other priority things we should be focusing on.
We have a high-performing staff that get a lot done, and part of our job in good governance is ensuring we’re assisting in that,” Dean said.
He added, “I’m becoming a little bit concerned that we’re adding too many tasks, and it could become a distraction from what I consider very high-priority things to get done.”
Going forward, city administration will work to create a map of the pathway system, identify gaps within the city, and work with the accessibility committee as a stakeholder.
“There is a definite need for a connectable community,” Director of Growth and Planning Travis Fillier said.
