Town looks for solutions
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Town of Strathmore council will debate open hours for the Kinsmen Park pavilion, as well as increased law enforcement in the area.
During the Oct. 11 Committee of the Whole meeting, councillors received a report from Jamie Dougdale, director of infrastructure, operations and development services regarding information around public complaints stemming from the pavilion, as well as on Parklane Drive.
“A delegation spoke before council about their concerns around noise and speeding on Parklane Drive, as well as noise, garbage, and vandalism at the pavilion parking lot near Kinsmen Park,” he said. “Council did pass a motion asking staff to bring forward a report outlining options that could help to mitigate some of the issues that were raised. Since that time, staff have installed some traffic counters at two locations on Parklane Drive.
Dougdale explained data returned from monitoring traffic in the area showed that most vehicles travelled below the posted limit, with some notable exceptions.
The maximum posted speeds recorded at the two observation locations on Parklane Drive were noted to be 122 and 109 km/h.
Assembled in a report which was presented before the Committee of the Whole, were outlined some options which would be intended to mitigate speeding traffic in the area.
“The data that we did get does not support the installation of any changes from a capital perspective. That being said, we did want to present some options before council,” said Dougdale.
Options presented to the Committee regarding Parklane Drive included, but were not limited to:
• Temporary and limited road narrowing along Parklane Drive with both paint and barriers
• Creating speed bumps
• Adding additional enforcement from bylaw officers or RCMP to the area
Dougdale added even by adding countermeasures to reduce speed, the noise problem is not necessarily solved.
Regardless of approach, there will be capital requirements which may result in moderate operational impacts for the town.
Installations to the pavilion such as an access gate or surveillance cameras, which were suggested during the meeting, would be both expensive to the town and difficult to set up and manage.
“I am not interested in the traffic narrowing. I think the big concern from the delegation that came in was just the noise and the criminal activity going on at the pavilion,” said Coun. Brent Wiley. “The two things I would eventually like more information on is what would this focused enforcement look like, what would it entail, how much would it cost – I want some direction from policing. Then, I wonder if it could be if council could play around with the idea of a (targeted) curfew … in that one area.”
Utilizing the RCMP for a four-hour time slot to patrol the area and enforce bylaws would cost the town $1,500 per shift, according to Dougdale.
Staff Sgt. Mark Weilgosz suggested implementing closed hours to the park and pavilion, which would be enforceable in response to complaints, or regular patrols.
Coun. Jason Montgomery brought up the idea of introducing targeted, temporary enforcement with harsh consequences for those who are caught in order to dissuade the activity.
Coun. Melissa Langmaid raised the point that should the park and the pavilion be assigned closing hours, the violators may simply choose another location to become a nuisance, as opposed to the problem being solved entirely.
Options for how best to move forward with resolving the issues and addressing the original complaints will be brought to the next regular meeting of council.