Plan to take a detour if you’re travelling in or out of the downtown Okotoks area this month.
Roadwork began on Veterans Way last week, and traffic has been reduced to one lane, one-way. The work, currently between Elizabeth Street and Mountain Street, is the first phase of a construction project that will see a new three-metre multi-use pathway on the west side of the road and a wider sidewalk on the east side.
Plans have been altered since residents spoke out against a proposed realignment of the intersection at Elma Street and changes at Frederick Pryce park, which have both been removed from the project scope.
“We can keep the unaligned road but still carry the theme of pedestrian-friendliness throughout,” said Okotoks project engineer James Cameron. “It’s just a minor rework of that intersection, essentially.”
At its Aug. 22 meeting, council approved expanding work in 2016 to include roadwork on phase two on Veterans Way between Mountain Street and Milligan Drive.
“Our goal now is to do the roadwork all this year and then finish it off next spring,” said Cameron. “That will be landscaping and sidewalks.”
Traffic is expected to be delayed for at least two weeks as construction continues, and roadwork should be complete by the beginning of October, weather-permitting, he said.
Work will involve narrowing the roadway to accommodate larger sidewalks on the east side of the road and a new pathway to encourage more active transportation down the Veterans Way corridor, he said.
“It will feel tighter, vehicles will feel the need to go a little slower,” said Cameron. “It’s still completely safe and within all guidelines, but it will feel different.”
There will also be pinch points, or bump-outs, at intersections to increase pedestrian safety, he said.
“The curb line will bump out into the road, so that can be the starting point for pedestrian crossings,” said Cameron. “It pushes them out further into the street before they have to start crossing traffic, so they’re crossing a shorter distance and they’re more visible.”
Roadwork, landscaping and sidewalks are all expected to be complete by the end of 2017, he said.
