It seems like there is little hope for a second access point to be built for the residents living near 59th Avenue close to Brookside Village, at least in the foreseeable future.
Town of Barrhead councillors voted to add another access connecting 59th Avenue to 43rd Street to the municipality's 10-year Capital Plan during their Dec. 8 meeting. Councillors also asked administration to research the history of the developer of the subdivision.
The road, which is accessed via 46th Street, ends at what is essentially a small cul-de-sac.
The issue was first brought to council's attention by Coun. Dausen Kluin on Nov. 10. He noted residents who live on the street have little options for parking, if any. Even more importantly, if an emergency occured and the the street was blocked residents would be essentially trapped and it would pose access difficulties for emergency response crews.
Chief administrative officer Edward LeBlanc said public works estimates that a gravel road could be constructed that would give residents a second access and egress option for $55,000.
"Because the land has already been registered and the road allowance has already been dedicated, we would not have to purchase any land," he said.
Coun. Leslie Penny said it is not the only area in the municipality that has only one access or egress point, specifically pointing out the Beaver Brook Estates subdivision.
"In my opinion, that is a more critical situation if we ever have to evacuate the area using one road," she said, asking administration if council had finalized plans to link the subdivision with the West Boundary Road.
LeBlanc said council had briefly discussed the possibility during a strategic planning session in November.
"We were going to get public works to come up with a strategy and costing so that it could be incorporated into our long-term planning," he said.
Coun. Ty Assaf disagreed with Penny, pointing out that while there may only be one road into the subdivision, residents have several options within the subdivision to move about.
"For this [59th Avenue] there is only one egress point and that is my biggest concern," he said, adding he would like to see the project be put on the top of the list and completed before they undertook any other new road construction.
Just before his comments, Coun. Dausen Kluin asked where LeBlanc would place the 59th Street on the 10-year Capital Plan priority list.
LeBlanc said that would be up to public works, adding the list would be presented to council at about this time next year.
"Council can push it back or forward, but it will be up to you to determine what the priorities are," he said.
Kluin then asked if there was any cost-sharing possibility.
"We could check the development agreement. If nothing is mentioned there is zero chance that they would be willing to cost-share," LeBlanc said. "It would have depended on the negotiations, but I would be surprised if second access was included in the development permit."
He added the agreement was signed in 2008 and the likelihood that the developer was still in operation was doubtful.
"This agreement is 12-years-old," LeBlanc said. "This developer is likely long gone, but it does warrant investigation and we will report back to council.”
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
