Town plunges into investigation into parking at Wheatland Trail

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Two weeks after concerned residents addressed town council with vehemence about the failure of notice and the sudden implementation of no-parking signs on Wheatland Trail, a preliminary investigation into the roadway suggests against removal until further investigation can be completed.
Measurements and an investigation into Highway 817 – or Wheatland Trail, a provincial highway travelling north and southbound through Strathmore – showed two varying widths within the residential area. Town staff identified a four-lane road with a width of approximately 15 metres from Highway 1 north to Willow Drive, and a two-lane road with a width of nearly 12 metres past Willow Drive.
According to the Town of Strathmore Master Servicing Study the 15-metre section would be categorized as a minor-arterial-undivided-no-parking roadway.
“That identifies right there that we do not allow or identify that road as parking lanes,” said Bryce Mackan, acting director of engineering with the Town of Strathmore.
“I can say that a preliminary investigation has taken place and the infrastructure department has gone out and measured the roadway to identify what type of road it is.”
As these roadways are considered roadway lanes, and with the 12-metre portion – two-lane section – measuring more narrow than the Strathmore residential and industrial standards for residential collector and industrial collector standards that allow parking on either side, administration’s recommendation to council on May 18 suggested against the removal of the signs in the 100 block of Wheatland Trail until a thorough investigation has been completed.
Local resident Tony Silva brought the issue to the forefront at the May 4 council meeting, with several of his neighbours in tow, when the no-parking signs were implemented without any notification to the residents and leaving the neighbourhood with a lack of parking spaces. Residents expressed their concerns about safety when crossing the four lanes, and removing a barrier that promoted vehicles to slow down as they approach the school zone.
Council assured the public that the issue had not previously come before council and that council had not voted on implementing the signs. Councillor Pat Fule then mentioned an E-mail that stated a complaint had been raised by a resident of Sunset Haven, who contacted Alberta Transportation with questions about parking on Wheatland Trail. Town staff also provided some additional information, acknowledging a dialogue between Alberta Transportation and staff, after several complaints were made about parking in the area, which was followed up with the installation of the no-parking signs.
Yet residents were outraged over the change – some who had been parking their vehicles, and whose friends and family had been parking their vehicles, on the road for over 50 years.
“Just recently I had additional requests from Sunset Haven, they have a deficit of parking capacity in that area,” said Councillor Denise Peterson.
Councillor Peterson called on Mackan to provide Silva with an update on the investigation. While the investigation is ongoing, the engineering department will also contact Alberta Transportation about the possibility of the widening of the roadway to create parking lanes.