Traffic Study

The previous council, I believe back in 2011, requested a review of the major intersections in the Town regarding the current traffic controls, traffic patterns and collision history. Part of the request was based on the assumption that the Town would have 10,000 people in 2036. We are assuming we may have 8,000 within 10 years. The traffic study also includes recommendations for upgrading current signage, signals and associated vehicular and pedestrian traffic controls for today's and tomorrow's needs.

The engineers recognized that the road network is in excellent condition with many safety features in place; they did identify OFIs, opportunities for improvement.

Here are the recommendations based on short, medium, and long term recommendations.

Short Term Recommendations

Traffic Signs

• replace signs that are non-standard, worn, or deteriorated ($100 - $1,000 per sign)
• install signs according to industry standards
• consider reviewing traffic collisions and collision history at intersections with yield signs

Traffic Signals

• remove all signals on Main St (~$1,000,000)

Highway 7 and Main St.

• restrict left turns on 11th Ave and 12th Ave

Speed Limits

• install a 50 km/h speed limit on the east of Railway Ave ($500)
• relocate the 70 km/h speed limit on Hwy 7 west of Town to the Town limits ($1,000)
• ask the RCMP to increase speed enforcement or give the Bylaw Officer powers to ticket for speeding
• install additional and/or oversize speed limit signs on Hwys 7 & 21 ($2,000)
• investigate options to reduce speeds on Hwys 7 & 21 including additional signage, pavement markings and install permanent speed displays

Other

• establish east/west routes on 2nd Ave and 5th Ave
• Establish north/south routes on 3rd St W and 2nd St E

Future Growth

• initiate Engineering Functional Design of East Grid Road access for proposed residential development in south east and Hwys 7 & 21 access for NW industrial

Medium Term Recommendations

Highway 7

• re-align intersections with 11th Ave and 12th Ave at Main St and 2nd St E
• install traffic signals at 2nd St E as warranted
• upgrade existing traffic signals

Hwys 7 & 21

• restrict left turns on 11th Ave and 12th Ave

Pedestrians

• install overhead pedestrian crosswalk at mid-block crossing on Hwy 21 ($10,000)

Access Management

• restrict access (no left turns) to Hwy 7 west of Hwy 21 except at 15th Ave

Speed Limits

• install a permanent speed display sign on all highways entering Town ($10,000 - $15,000)

Other

• adopt a level of service "C" as a Town level of service guideline
• undertake a regular traffic counting program to monitor traffic volumes and emerging capacity issues
• adopt a Main St beautification plan and implement

Long Term Recommendations

Highway 7

• rebuild major intersections to accommodate traffic growth

Hwys 7 & 21

• relocate intersections with 11th Ave and 12th Ave

Railway Ave

• Re-align intersections with Hwy 21 and Ditson Dr

Main St

• install traffic signals at major intersections as warranted

Ditson Dr

• rebuild major intersections and install traffic signals as warranted

Access Management

• remove accesses to Hwy 7 west of Hwy 21 except at 15th St W ($10,000/approach)

Parking

• provide an off-street parking area to alleviate parking on 11th Ave and 12th Ave ($250,000)

Other

• monitor traffic volumes and expand road network as needed

Decisions

Council has some important decisions to make over the next little bit. Some of the controversial ones include:

• no stop lights downtown
• redesigning/beautifying downtown
• redesigning the intersections along Hwy 7
• restricting access to Hwy 7