The weather was kind to the Town of Crossfield as Laut Avenue was paved on Nov. 7, Chief Administrative Officer Ken Bosman told Town council during the Nov. 17 meeting.
“Thank you Mother Nature,” he added.
The paving did raise a question from Deputy Mayor James Ginter, who noted Laut was now much higher than the connecting Range Road (RR) 12, resulting in quite a drop down.
The road was a part of Rocky View County prior to Crossfield and Bosman believed it might not have been properly maintained for a few years before the municipality took it over.
“There is no base on that road,” he said. “That is a flat, dirt road.”
The Town’s game plan with RR 12 is to build it up and rebase it, Bosman said, by progressively laying gravel over a number of years to develop it into a reasonable road and eventually pave it.
“(The drop) was a conscious choice,” he said. “We have to put the height of Laut to where the road will be when they actually get it built to a proper road.”
Bosman noted the Town could also apply for a new piece in the Provincial budget called the Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program, which targets roads that have a regional function, to aid the buildup of RR 12.
“We can probably make the argument that going around Crossfield has a regional function within the area and they might get the Province to kick a few dollars in,” Bosman said.
Dream Development
Dream Development has requested the Town of Crossfield allow the building of eight showhomes in advance of the land being divided into individual lots.
This would mark the first time a showhome has been built in the community, so Bosman said council must put steps in place before the developer can move forward with the build.
“Our internal procedures are not set to accommodate (showhomes),” Bosman said. “We’re kind of doing it a little on the fly and stealing procedures from other municipalities.”
Bosman added that having the large nation-wide developer interested in building showhomes stands as tremendous vote of confidence in the community, especially given the difficult state of the Alberta economy at the moment.
“It’s a piece of good news and very encouraging for the future,” he said.
Council agreed Administration should look into procedures in place of municipalities that have had showhomes built.
“Let’s figure it out so they can do what they need to do,” Mayor Nathan Anderson said.
Line painting
Parking stalls along Railway Street are to become more perpendicular to the sidewalk, after council agreed to remove some width from the street to allow for more parking.
The lines were angled a couple years ago after businesses in the area voted to generate more space on the tight street while losing parking, but Bosman said in retrospect he believes the businesses, and certainly council, wish to gain that parking back.
“This is an issue that over the years has gone back and forth,” Bosman said. “It’s a juggling act on which way to go.”
The Town hopes to get the painting done if some good weather comes around, as it needs to be in the 5 C range with a clean road so the paint adheres to the asphalt.
“If we get a chance, we will,” Bosman said. “Basically we need a clean, dry day.”
Along with this change comes a parking ban on the east side of Railway Street when it snows so the road is wider for traffic and the grater can easily clean the street.
