FAQs
- Higher Costs: Installing traffic lights or a traffic circle is significantly more expensive than realignment.
- Provincial Approval: Both options require approval from Alberta Transportation, adding complexity and potential delays to the project.
- Lower Cost: While a 4-way stop is a more affordable option, it does not address the issue of heavy trucks bypassing the designated truck route.
- Ongoing Challenges: Trucks would continue to use municipal roads, leading to increased wear and safety concerns.
Why is the Town doing this?
1. Preparing for Future Traffic Needs
With increasing traffic volumes anticipated from future developments, the current intersection design will not be able to handle the demand effectively. Realignment ensures long-term functionality and safety.
2. Managing Heavy Truck Traffic
Heavy trucks are bypassing the designated truck route by using Railway Ave and Broadway St to avoid stopping at the intersection. This causes premature wear on municipal roadways, and the town aims to direct heavy vehicles back onto provincial highways, which are better suited for such traffic.
3. Addressing Safety Concerns
The existing layout, including a statue on Broadway St, has created an inadvertent blind spot for vehicles travelling east/west along Hwy 52. Realignment will reduce these challenges and improve visibility for drivers.
This proactive approach balances safety, efficiency, and infrastructure sustainability.
Why not do something different?
1. Traffic Lights or Traffic Circles
2. 4-Way Stop
The chosen realignment solution is cost-effective and directly tackles the challenges at hand.
This is going to be hard to change my habits. What steps can be taken to make this change easier to adjust to?
Four large, flashing stop signs on north/soundbound Broadway St will be installed to help remind drivers about this change. The signs will be similar to the one below.
Additional "New Stop Sign" signs will be installed ahead of the intersection on north/southbound Broadway St and on east/west Hwy 52 to raise driver awareness of these changes. The signs will be similar to the one below.
