by Morinville Online Staff with files from Colin Smith
Morinville Town Council held its monthly committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, receiving three delegations and numerous reports from Administration. Below is a summary of information from Tuesday’s meeting.
100 Avenue and Grandin Intersection Report Makes Recommendations
Now that Morinville Town Council has received a consultant’s report on recommendations for the intersection at Grandin Avenue and 100 Street, the Mayor should soon be approaching the Alberta government to fund improvements to the intersection.
Council held a special meeting on Nov. 14 last year where they approved a motion to that effect introduced by Councillor Stephen Dafoe and modified with the help of other councillors.
The motion, which received unanimous support from council members, directs the Mayor to reach out to Alberta Transportation with a proposal to install intersection improvements at the intersection of Highway 642 and Grandin Drive East, pending the results of the consultant’s report.
On Tuesday night, Council received a final report from the consultant, ISL Engineering, who evaluated improvement options for this intersection, along with the intersection of 100 Street and Cardiff Road.
The evaluation followed an Oct. 26 open house where community members got more information about the intersection improvement proposals and expressed their opinions.
Input from the open house and an online survey, which drew 690 responses, were incorporated into the report.
Residents were almost unanimous in support of traffic lights at Grandin and 100 Avenue but equally divided on lights or a roundabout at Cardiff Road and 100 Street.
Concerning Grandin Avenue and 100 Street, 83% supported traffic lights, while 9% were against and 8% were neutral. Similarly, 79% opposed a roundabout at the intersection while 13% supported it, and 7% were neutral.
In their report, ISL recommended signalizing traffic lights, writing, “Signalization is significantly less expensive, meets resident expectations, and provides adequate safety and operational improvement.”
Resident thoughts on improving Cardiff Road and 100 Street were divided.
Forty-nine per cent of respondents supported signals, and 49% supported a roundabout, with 39% opposed to signals and 42% opposed to a roundabout. The rest were neutral on both options.
In their report, ISL recommended a roundabout at the intersection, writing, “Roundabout provides higher level of service, aligns with
Policy and Alberta Transportation’s long-term plans, and
similar overall project costs.”
Although reports are completed and recommendations made, Morinville residents won’t see the work done immediately.
Town Administration will start by obtaining Alberta Transportation’s “Approval In Principle,” finalize planning study reports, prepare scope of work and business cases for the next phase of projects.
A design phase for the work will include detailed engineering design, coordination with utility companies, preparing construction cost estimates and acquisition, if required, and acquiring land if needed.
Further details will be brought to Council when Administration brings forward its 10-year Capital Plan. No date has been set for that meeting.
Estimated costs for 100 Avenue / Grandin Avenue lights is approximately $500,000, while the Cardiff roundabout is estimated at $1.5-3 million, depending on the type of Roundabout and related work.
