COLD LAKE - City of Cold Lake council discussed two safety-related motions at their last regular council meeting, which included traffic calming measures on 1st Avenue and a proposal to add fencing around the Kinosoo Beach playground.
At the March 11 regular meeting, council approved $8,000 from Council Contingency to install traffic calming measures at the 1st Avenue crosswalk near the MD Campground but voted against the playground fencing proposal.
The initiative stems from concerns over vehicles accelerating near Kinosoo Beach.
“Once you pass the last speed table and by the Kinosoo playground structure, people are hitting the gas at some excessive speeds and whatnot,” said CAO Kevin Nagoya.
To address this, council approved installing speed bumps near the MD Campground’s crosswalk.
“That being said, the Corporate Priorities Committee . . . passed a recommendation to City council to install some traffic halting measures,” Nagoya added. “This is the budget amendment in order to proceed with that."
Mayor Craig Copeland emphasized that the traffic calming measures are a trial to assess their effectiveness.
Coun. Ryan Bailey questioned whether the concrete barriers would be removed after summer for easier snow plowing.
Nagoya responded, “We haven’t made a decision on programming it yet . . . first thing is to get through the summer and see how these things work.” He acknowledged potential winter challenges, adding, “They’ll develop snow hills behind them and stuff like that. So aesthetically, there may be some challenges when it comes to that winter season. But they could stay theoretically all year round.”
The traffic calming measures on 1st Avenue will be installed west of Kinosoo Beach and will be monitored to see the effect on traffic and speeds in the area, according to the City of Cold Lake.
Kinosoo Beach playground
In a related matter, a second motion was proposed to install fencing around the Kinosoo Beach playground to improve safety and address concerns about vehicle speeds near the play area.
Nagoya clarified that administration did not consider the situation to be a critical safety concern, stating, "I don't think the administration believes there is an unsafe condition here."
“In the discussions, safety sometimes is an observation or perspective depending on personal feelings, personal priorities and stuff like that,” Nagoya continued.
He mentioned that while some may value fencing for added security, others might see it as an aesthetic concern.
The proposed fencing was estimated at $23,000 for a fully enclosed structure or $16,500 for a three-sided installation. Concerns were also raised about accessibility.
“The other part is that we have received feedback . . . where there seems to be a question of disabilities and accessibility by individuals that may be in a wheelchair or otherwise,” Nagoya said.
Coun. Ryan Bailey opposed the motion, stating, “I’m not too in favour of this happening. I’ve lived in areas in town . . . when I lived in the South, I used to live near Steve Wusyk Park. That park is a lot closer to the road than that. It’s a 30km/hour zone, it’s a playground zone. We should go with that.”
Bailey raised the question of whether the previously approved traffic calming measures, such as concrete barriers, might eliminate the need for fencing by reducing speeding in the area.
Ultimately, council defeated the fencing motion, opting instead to proceed only with the traffic calming trial.
