Priority: TRAFFIC

by | Aug 22, 2017 | Campaign 2017, News, Priorities, Traffic | 0 comments

A focus on planning to put pressure on the provincial government to act. Not only I will take immediate action to alleviate traffic congestion in the short term but I will also focus on long term planning as well.   I can’t promise you I will fix the problems because roads are a provincial responsibility; anyone that promises you they can “fix” the problem is, at best, ill informed and/or  playing a game of ½ truths.

We must continue advocating for provincial government infrastructure spending.  We must be willing to form partnerships with whatever provincial government is in power. We must seek cooperation from our neighbors when developing at our borders not to place additional strains on already overburdened infrastructure. I also believe that it will take more than just one solution to fix our traffic problems for the whole of Cochrane.

While there is no mechanism to force our government to actually follow through with the promises they make;  we can control the pace of our growth, demand better planning from the beginning and stop one way in and out developments.

I’ve heard many ‘made in Cochrane’ ideas that I feel are worth pursuing but part of my solution will be my approach.  I want to use existing town and community resources to ‘brainstorm’ a list of solutions, prioritize those solutions and then do a complete analysis of the top ideas.  I want to then present ‘shovel ready’ projects to the government.  If Cochrane can offer funding for these projects to further improve our chances of success, even better.

I will place a motion(s) before council to explore the following projects:

*To have a reverse lane established on the hill on 1a.

*To link the various range roads to divert traffic away from the town core.

*To put turning lanes to and from the intersection of Hwy 1a and 4th Ave West.

I can promise you that I will NOT vote for ANY development that includes only one access road.  I will carefully evaluate public transit to ensure it’s properly implemented to fit Cochrane’s needs now and in the future.  I will advocate for alternative methods of travel such a transit, pathways etc.