Walkers using Imperial Drive as part of their outdoor fitness routine are facing a hurdle since the snow began to fall.
Turner Valley Coun. John Waring told council at its Jan. 4 meeting that seniors and parents with strollers can no longer access the portion of the road that was closed in September between Royalite Way and the villas to the west because the snow hasn’t been cleared.
“In the summer, spring and fall it’s fine, but currently there is no access for older people and strollers,” Waring, an avid walker, told council. “It would be really useful if the same machine that clears the Decalta pathway and the Friendship Trail could clear a walking path through that section.
“I noticed a lot of people are trying to go through there with strollers, dogs and older people. If we could make a pathway access through there that would be very much appreciated.”
Waring told council that one morning he passed 18 people along the road – some walking dogs, some jogging and some skiing.
“It seems like people will drive down, park at the golf course and go for a walk,” he said.
“Now that the road’s closed a lot of people are walking on it. Even the extension of Royalite Way to 16th Avenue you see a lot of people walking on there.”
Council passed a bylaw in 2006 to close Imperial Drive between the Turner Valley Golf Club and villas and extend Royalite Way to 16th Avenue south.
The decision came with expectations of more road traffic due to a proposed 700 home development south of the subdivision in negotiations with the developer, Town and golf course.
The development didn’t occur, the road wasn’t built and the issue wasn’t revisited until the 2013 flood when Imperial Drive east of the villas was deemed unsafe due to erosion of the riverbank close to the road.
The Town received provincial and federal funding to close Imperial Drive between the golf club and villas and extend Royalite Way south.
In an agreement between the Town and golf club, it was decided ownership of the closed portion of Imperial Drive, which goes through the golf course, would be transferred to the golf club, said Barry Williamson, the Town chief administrative officer.
Once the transfer occurs, the road will be removed and a pathway built, he said.
A timeline was not established.
“The ownership still sits with the town, but the plan is to transfer it to the golf course in 2016,” he said. “Because the road is closed it’s not being maintained by the Town. At this stage we haven’t been directed to do anything more than what we’re doing. We didn’t budget for doing snow work on that particular parcel of road.”
Williamson said it’s up to the Parks, Pathways and Recreation Committee to determine priorities regarding pathways for 2016.
“They have a lot of things to look at,” he said. “You have to look at the whole town and prioritize what pathway should come first.”
Coun. Dona Fluter said Imperial Drive isn’t the only area in Turner Valley where pedestrian traffic is impeded or non-existant.
The area between Edward and Royal Avenue can’t be accessed by Country Meadows residents, she pointed out.
“We’ve got to be careful we don’t set a precedent,” she said. “If we say, ‘yeah, let’s clear it,’ someone from over there could say, ‘What about over here?”
Fluter requested a timeline be established for building pathways in both areas.
Waring, who is the council representative on the Parks, Pathways and Recreation Committee, said the group is working on creating a list of priorities for pathways to present to council in early spring.
“We have a master plan of walkways within the town of Turner Valley, also linking to Black Diamond,” he said. “There is a wish list like spaghetti junction, which will be pared down to what is reasonable.”
