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Crossfield launches downtown beautification

CrossfieldDowntown
Crossfield residents had a chance to learn more about a downtown beautification project and connect with the project team and contractor during an open house Nov. 14. Photo Submitted/For Rocky View Weekly

The Town of Crossfield will embark on a project to revitalize downtown while simultaneously replacing deep servicing along Railway Street.

“We want to create a place that’s more welcoming, that’s more pedestrian-friendly, that becomes a place where it’s a destination,” said Christina Waldner, communications/research officer with the Town.

With utilities along Railway Street nearly 60 years old, the time has come to replace them by digging up nine blocks in a phased approach.

“There became an opportunity to add on to that, by doing some beautification of downtown,” Waldner said. “It’s actually to the Town’s benefit and to residents’ benefit to have it done at the same time, because the cost is about half of what the cost to rebeautify would be, if we did it as a separate project.”

Waldner said a beautification project has been in the works for several years, ever since the Town completed a study of the entrances into Crossfield in 2012.

“It’s something Crossfieldians should be quite excited about,” Waldner said. “It’s going to bring a real sense of vibrancy and a sense of community. This town already has an amazing sense of community; it’s just going to make that that much better and really make downtown something to be proud of.”

In an Oct. 31 press release, the Town announced it had awarded a contract for the work to Professional Excavators and Construction Ltd. following a Request for Proposal (RFP) process. According to Waldner, the contractor was chosen because they had spoken with businesses during the RFP process, and the Alberta-based company has previously completed projects in Crossfield.

With the contractor chosen, Waldner said work on the project will begin immediately, with the project team and contractor collaborating to determine the final design and phasing of the initiative. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2020, and the project is anticipated to take between five and six months.

“The period from now until spring is really when we’re going to craft what it’s going to look like,” Waldner said. “Each of the developers who submitted to the RFP sort of had their ideas of what this was going to look like, but we didn’t ask them for a full-fledged plans as part of that RFP.”

Waldner anticipated the final design will include increased seating, wider sidewalks, improved parking, new lighting, more landscaping and places for the community to gather.

Road closures associated with the project may cause some inconvenience, and Waldner said the Town is putting together a plan to support businesses during the development, which will include an incentive program to keep residents patronizing local businesses. More details will be made public later, she said.

“It’s one of our biggest concerns, making sure that businesses are not adversely impacted, or least impacted as possible, during the construction,” Waldner said.

The Town held two open houses Nov. 13 and 14 – one for businesses and one for residents – to introduce the contractor and project team, inform the community about the project and gather feedback on how to create the smallest impact.

Residents can also contact the Town with their questions and concerns, Waldner said, by emailing [email protected]

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