After a contentious debate over a new school in the area, the City of St. Albert is ready to prove to residents of Erin Ridge that their concerns about traffic were heard.
Starting on Monday, the City is rolling out the first stage of the new traffic safety initiatives in Erin Ridge after public consultation on the location of a new francophone junior/senior high school in Eldorado Park last year.
These initial steps will include the installation of a three-way stop at Erin Ridge Road and Erin Ridge Drive, which the City hopes will improve sightlines for motorists, as well as safety for all pedestrians crossing there.
“Consultation with residents helped us better understand the issues they are facing in their neighbourhood and we were able to determine together the type of solutions that will work best within Erin Ridge,” Mayor Nolan Crouse said in a press release. “This implementation strategy brings together traffic research, best practices and public input to find solutions that will work not only today, but well into the future.”
The three-way stop was determined to be an appropriate measure under Transportation Association of Canada guidelines because the average daily volume of vehicles along Erin Ridge Road is more than 200 per hour, and because the average delay to side street traffic entering the intersection is greater than 30 seconds during the peak hour. On Erin Ridge Road, that delay was found to be 48 seconds.
As well as the three-way stop, there are two other pedestrian safety initiatives scheduled to be implemented by the end of 2014: a pedestrian crosswalk on the north and east approach of the intersection of Erin Ridge Road and Erin Ridge Drive; and sidewalk extensions at the crosswalk at Eldorado Drive connecting to the Red Willow Trail system west of Eastcott Drive. Work on these, however, may extend into 2015.
More traffic measures are scheduled to be implemented through 2015 and 2016, including speed management initiatives, traffic operations, pedestrian safety initiatives, and a policy review related to a residential parking program in the area.
The City hopes to have all these measures in place by the time École Alexandre-Taché opens in fall 2016.
For more information on the new traffic measures, visit www.stalbert.ca/living-here/community-directory/schools/new-schools.
— GLENN COOK, St. Albert Leader
