Roads before houses urges Cochrane town council

Posted by on Saturday, July 30th, 2016 at 4:57pm.

Like any growing municipality, there are some traffic challenges in Cochrane. Before more people move to the town, Councilor Morgan Nagel things the roadways should be sorted out before more houses starting being built otherwise the town will "be in trouble."

At the July meeting of town council, Nagel gave notice of motion, suggesting holding off on residential development and in face, freezing permits until some of the congestion in Cochrane has been addressed or until such time that a solution is found.

Nagel actually thinks that the Town of Cochrane can't absorb any more residential development at all, especially since growth has been crazy the past few years. There isn't even suitable capacity for a further 4 or 5% growth in the foreseeable future, especially on local highways such as 1A and 22.

Nagel's motion will be put forward to town council again in the fall and it will be put to a vote. Nagel says he hopes to have some financial options to present but in all, the town should be able to afford the infrastructure upgrades required.

Some of his fellow councilors have been active on Social Media to provide clarity to some citizens about the current state of affairs in Cochrane's transportation sector. For example, once the land access has been sorted out, there will be another bridge across the Bow River, scheduled to open in 2019. Also, population growth in Cochrane has been slowing, especially due to the current slump. Some councilors in Cochrane don't want to make life difficult for developers in the long-term.

If Nagel's motion is approved by council, the effect won't be seen short-term because there are many building permits out there already. The developments affected afterwards would be Southbow Landing and Heritage Hills, at the stage where building permits will need to be applied for soon by the developer.

If the freeze is approved by council, it will only be lifted in the event that the provincial government guarantees funding to upgrading Highway 1A and 22 where they meet in addition to facilitating the pending land right-of-way acquisition for the bridge over the Bow River.

Feedback from the community will be on going as there was no previous discussion or consultation prior to Nagel bringing his motion to council. He indicated that the motion is for the benefit of current Cochrane residents, and that it should be their tax dollars that pay for road infrastructure improvements.

Not a new issue

The problem of road infrastructure is not a new one. When the developers of Southbow Landing and Heritage Hills submitted neighbourhood plans to town council, it was duly noted that councilors wanted to see road improvements prior to approval. The bridge of the Bow River in the community of Riversong connecting with Griffin Road was one such requested improvement. The issue of congestion at the intersection of Highway 1A and 22 has been going on for so long, it's no wonder Councilor Nagel has drawn a line and suggested a permit freeze until something is done.

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