Relief is on the way for a much-maligned Bragg Creek intersection.
Banff-Kananaskis MLA Miranda Rosin announced Aug. 4 a temporary permanent traffic light would be installed at the four-way stop, located at the intersection of Highway 22, Burnside Drive and Highway 758, to help regulate traffic flow in the area.
“It’s a huge win for the community and a huge win for the recreational community,” Rosin said. “This is a great step forward to make sure everyone moving through the intersection is moving through safely.”
Rosin noted major infrastructure upgrades will still take place at the intersection and the traffic light will serve as a temporary solution to aid traffic flow until upgrades are completed.
The infrastructure upgrades are projected to be completed by 2025.
“Anybody who has gone out that way, whether they live in the hamlet or whether they're just heading out to recreate on the trail system, knows that the traffic needed immediate relief,” Rosin said. “It couldn’t wait until 2025 in terms of public safety and in terms of the effect it was shaving on the economy of the Bragg Creek hamlet.”
Rosin said she has been meeting with Minister of Transportation Ric McIver weekly to find a solution for the area over the last couple of months.
She added she hopes the traffic mitigation will help encourage visitors to stop and explore the Bragg Creek area. It is more important than ever to encourage tourism in the area, she said, while ensuring people visit local businesses and support them in what has been a tough year due to COVID-19.
Rocky View County (RVC) councillor Mark Kamachi said he was happy to hear a temporary solution is being put in place until permanent infrastructure can be built at the four-way stop.
However, he noted, having traffic patrol officers during busy times at the intersection could still serve as a better solution.
“This is only a permanent temporary solution until we get an actual roundabout built,” Kamachi said.
The traffic lights serve as the best fit for the community for now, and Kamachi said he hopes they can be programmed based on the peak hours of traffic at the intersection.
A major benefit of the temporary traffic flow mitigation is it will encourage people to take time to stop and enjoy the hamlet because they will not be stuck in traffic, he said. More importantly, he added, the traffic lights will enhance the safety of the community because they will help dissuade frustrated drivers from driving on the shoulder to get into the community.
“At the end of the day safety is the number one priority – making sure no pedestrian, no cyclist, no other vehicle gets into an accident,” Kamachi said. “It will be good for business, good for residents. It will really calm a lot of tempers and heated arguments.”
Kamachi said he is grateful to see some steps being taken at the four-way stop and commended Rosin for pushing Alberta Transportation to take action.
“It has always been a provincial issue,” Kamachi said.
The intersection has frustrated the Bragg Creek community for years because it involves RVC, the Alberta government and the Tsuu’tina First Nation and no solution was being found to help with traffic mitigation.
Kamachi said this whole issue could have been avoided years ago if the four-way stop had been more carefully planned so as not to have so many parties involved.
“I go back to whoever drew the lines up on the map and made this happen,” Kamachi said. “That’s a planning error from way back when, when they were divvying up Crown Land and Rocky View.”
