BARRHEAD - Town of Barrhead councillors approved a temporary road closure of 55 A Street at the 55 Street intersection to Highway 18 during their May 13 meeting.
The road closure is to facilitate the naming ceremony of the all-wheel park opening on Saturday, May 31, after long-time Barrhead physician Dr. Marvin Brent Wray. The closure would be effective from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wray served the community as a family doctor and emergency physician in Barrhead for 41 years before retiring. He passed away in November 2019 from pancreatic cancer at the age of 70.
Chief administrative officer Collin Steffes said initially, the municipality had scheduled the road closure of 55a Street Avenue at the 55th Street intersection to 51st Avenue upon the request of the committee to name the park after Wray.
However, he said, the committee later asked administration to expand the area to the highway.
"That is because the placement of the commemorative rock and plaque, the sign unveiling, is all in that area, so it is just more prudent to give them more space for all the festivities they have planned," he said.
The committee was formed in 2023 by Barrhead pharmacist Rita Lyster to raise the $100,000 required to name the park as part of the municipality's sponsorship package. The committee specifically chose to honour Wray because of his work with youth in the community, both as a family doctor specializing in obstetrics, helping to bring hundreds of babies into the world, and in youth sports, most notably hockey.
Coun. Ty Assaf asked if they needed permission from Alberta Transportation, as highways are the province's jurisdiction.
He also noted 55a Street and the subsequent 50th Avenue are an informal truck route.
"We do have these truckers that have these mandatory scheduled routes, and we will be disrupting them, so I want to make sure there are no additional steps we must take with Alberta Transportation," Assaf said.
Steffes said he checked with the public works director, who assured him there wouldn't be an issue, adding that the municipality has closed the street in recent years on at least two other occasions without incident.
History of the all-wheel park
Although multiple councils had discussed the possibility of a new all-wheel park to replace the old facility next to the curling rink for several years, the general public first learned about the potential construction of an all-wheel skate park in early June 2021 when the council announced the municipality would be partnering with the Barrhead CARES Coalition to create a survey asking residents about the features they would like to see in a park.
In late January 2022, the council selected New Line Skateparks to design and build the park. In March, they held a public information session that included staff from Newline Skateparks, and in late April, council approved the final design. In mid-June, the council hosted the official groundbreaking ceremony, and approximately a year later, the town held its official grand opening ceremony on June 23.
The all-wheel park received initial funding through a Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) grant. Council originally capped the budget at $800,000, but in July 2022, councillors approved an additional $49,000. The additional funds were required to cover cost overruns due to extra groundwork because the property was formerly a CPR railway site.
In June 2023, the town hosted the park's grand opening.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
