Changes are coming to Cimarron-area roads over the next few months.
Okotoks town council endorsed a traffic calming study Aug. 22 that includes pedestrian warning signs, parking restrictions and changes to traffic signal timing in the area. The study came after years of residents voicing concerns about increasing traffic volume, vehicle speeds and drivers taking shortcuts from 32 Street through Cimarron Estates or along Cimarron Blvd. to Southridge Drive.
Work on the study began in March and wrapped up this month. The report was done by consultant group Associated Engineering, which met with residents at open house events in the winter and worked with a community advisory board through the spring.
Solutions in the report include changing traffic signal timing on Highway 7 and on Cimarron Blvd. at 32 Street and Southridge Drive, adding warning lights in advance of pedestrian crossings at Cimarron Blvd. and Cimarron Park Circle, installing rapid-flash beacons on Cimarron Blvd. at Cimarron Vista Gate and the Cimarron Parkway trail, and on Cimarron Drive at Cimarron Estates Road.
Consultants also recommended restricting parking within five metres of all pedestrian crossings on Cimarron Blvd. and on Cimarron Drive at Cimarron Estates Road, and installing raised crosswalks at four locations in Cimarron Estates. Two radar speed signs will also be installed in the community.
“The plan is to use the solar version that can be mounted in different location, so they could be relocated within the subdivision area depending on need,” said engineering projects coordinator Dan Kutzner. “These hopefully bring people’s attention to how fast they’re driving and slow down speeds.”
He said other improvements – like the rapid-flash beacons that will flash LED lights to warn drivers of pedestrians in the crosswalk – will also make people more aware of pedestrians and help improve safety.
The traffic calming measures will cost $122,000 for the purchase and installation of lights and line painting, which council also approved Aug. 22.
Raised crosswalks in Cimarron Estates will be negotiated with Cimarron developer Tristar Communities.
“We’re going to talk to the subdivision developer and the plan is to have those installed with subdivision construction in the Estates,” said Kutzner.
The raised crosswalks are designed to force motorists to slow down and help reduce speeding, he said. A similar crosswalk is currently in place on Woodhaven Drive.
A second phase of the project will undergo study this fall and will involve discussion with Alberta Transportation. The traffic signals at either end of Cimarron Blvd. and on Highway 7 at Southridge Drive and 32 Street will be reviewed.
“We want to improve flows there for people exiting Cimarron and try to make it as efficient as possible,” said Kutzner.
Though an obvious solution for many people is to divert traffic to Highway 7, he said it’s not an easy task. For starters, most of the traffic counted on Cimarron Blvd. is residents of the community using the road, he said.
“It would be difficult to reduce volume substantially on Cimarron Blvd.,” said Kutzner.
He said if traffic signals can be adjusted effectively, people may be more inclined to use the highway to travel between Southridge Drive and 32 Street rather than cutting through the residential area of Cimarron.
“We’ll be reviewing the timing of the signals that are on the highway in the hopes we can have that discussion with Alberta Transportation to optimize those timings as well,” said Kutzner.
Decreasing the time of delay for southbound traffic on Southridge Drive at Highway 7 might encourage people to take the alternate route, he said.
While lights and crosswalk lines should be complete by the end of 2016, he said the timing of negotiations with Alberta Transportation is unpredictable.
He said the work on traffic calming could not have happened without a dedicated group of community residents who joined the advisory board.
Among them was Robin Platz, who jumped at the chance to join the committee. Having lived in Cimarron Springs for six years, she’s endured her fair share of traffic delays and seen close calls with pedestrians.
“I’ve always been concerned with traffic in the Cimarron area, especially on the boulevard,” said Platz. “There’s a lot of traffic and there are people speeding or not paying attention, and it’s dangerous.”
She said she was pleased with the recommendations that came out of the traffic calming study. Having multiple solutions for various locations along Cimarron Blvd. was a good compromise for the community, she said.
“The needs in one area of Cimarron can be quite different from other area,” said Platz. “I think the report came up with some good compromises that, for the most part, are very cost effective, but make sense based on where they need to be implemented.”
She said it’s nice to see the Town taking Cimarron resident concerns seriously and to know there are measures being taken to ensure pedestrian and motorist safety moving forward.
Reducing traffic speeds and raising driver awareness will be a multiple-staged process that won’t necessarily be solved in one fell swoop, she said.
“It is still fluid to me, and I think a lot more needs to happen,” said Platz. “It’s a start, and we have to do something. Doing nothing wasn’t going to help, so at the end of the day we’ll take anything.”
