About 150 people packed into the Crossfield Community Centre on Nov. 30 for an open forum with Town council.
Dozens of questions were directed to councillors during the event, which was the first opportunity for residents to discuss the issues in an informal setting with the new council.
“There were some naysayers…I was even told we would look foolish sitting in front of 10 or 20 people,” said Mayor Nathan Anderson.
“I was very happy with the turnout, I had hoped for about 50. It says a lot about the fact that people are interested in the government of the their town. They want to know what’s going on. They want to be involved, and express their views.”
Crossfield resident George Crockett attended the event, and said that the turnout reflected citizen engagement.
“I think (people) were glad to have an opportunity to go to an informal meeting like that. This was an opportunity to have council listen,” said Crockett. “I quite enjoyed it. It was good to see the public’s interest, and hear good responses from council.”
Issues varied, but the most popular topic was snow removal, in the wake of a heavy snowfall at the end of November. One resident was unhappy with the lack of plowing on his street, Limit Ave., which is one of two roads that fall under provincial jurisdiction.
“It’s to our advantage when the province has jurisdiction over roads like (Highway) 2A and Limit Ave., because they have to maintain it,” said Anderson.
Some people expressed their displeasure with having to dig themselves out of their own driveways after town plows have passed, leaving an inconveniently placed windrow of snow.
“The plows just need to keep the roads open and it falls to the landowner to shovel themselves out. They can’t angle the blade out at every driveway,” Anderson said.
“I feel for the guy who has to dig himself out, because he is a taxpayer, but at the same time, our hands are somewhat tied on that. There is no other way to do it.”
One resident asked a question about the presence of Crossfield peace officers in the community during the night hours after hearing about a rash of vehicle thefts. Peace officers are only permitted to enforce bylaws and are unable to act on criminal code related activity, except to alert the local RCMP.
“Nobody is going to steal a car when anyone is around. A lot of it is getting lucky and catching them in the act,” said Anderson. “The best thing is for people to call and report things quickly. The happy medium is a strong relationship with Airdrie RCMP and our peace officers,” he said.
Parking on Railway Street was another topic that struck a chord with residents, as the combination of crew-cab, long-box trucks, and angle parking create a problem for other cars trying to safely turn onto the road.
“You have to pull right out on to Railway (Street) to see what’s coming in either direction,” said Crockett.
Anderson says finding some off-street parking on the east side of Railway St. would be a good fix to the problem, or restricting larger trucks to parallel park on the east side of the road.
“Off-street parking would alleviate the problem,” said Anderson.
“Those crew-cab, long-box trucks, they may need to park on the other side of the road. It’s about finding that happy medium that everyone can live with.”
