Westlock residents hoping for a set of traffic lights at the corner of 108 Avenue and Highway 18 may soon get their wish, but it remains unclear how they will be paid for.
After many years of lobbying by the Town of Westlock, including a recent meeting at the AUMA conference, Alberta Transportation conducted a study and determined there may be enough traffic to justify installing signals within the next couple years.
“What the study says is it doesn’t qualify or meet the standards right now, but will within two to three years,” CAO Dean Krause told councillors at their Oct. 21 meeting.
“Alberta Transportation at the meeting said that because of the study, they would put it on their capital list, and in two to three years the lights should be installed.”
The study indicates that overall, traffic volume at that intersection is up from last year, although there are a few categories in which it has declined. The study also indicates the cost of putting in the lights would be $195,000, with an additional $150,000 for widening the shoulders at the intersection.
Coun. Wyatt Glebe noted while those figures are provided, there’s no indication of where that money would come from.
“I’m having difficulty understanding who’s going to be participating in that cost,” he said. “Are they going to be participated or are we on the hook for it as well?”
“I think you’ll find when the time comes, they’ll approach us to talk about a funding formula,” Krause replied.
Coun. Sheila Foley noted that while traffic counts are up from last year, it’s likely they will continue to rise now that the Tim Horton’s has opened nearby.
Council passed a motion to send a letter thanking Alberta Transportation for conducting the study, and also indicating they look forward to seeing this on that department’s capital project list.
The issue of putting traffic signals at the highway intersection near the UFA in Westlock dates back many years. Previous councils had unsuccessfully lobbied the province to install signals, citing traffic safety concerns.
Mayor Ralph Leriger said after the meeting that the issue of lights at the intersection remains a concern for this council.
During a meeting with Alberta Transportation at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association last year they didn’t get a very positive result, he noted. A year later, however, things had apparently changed.
“This time they’ve done a study and we appreciate that. The study appears to show that it is at or at least very near to the traffic requirements that would indicate something needs to be done for traffic controls and we’re now in the queue,” he said.
“That’s no promise, but it’s certainly quite a bit more encouraging than where we were at our last meeting.”
