The Town of Sylvan Lake is considering upgrades to a pedestrian crossing near Steffie Woima School.
At a recent meeting of Council, a report was presented which suggested changes to the pedestrian crossing adjacent to Steffie Woima School on 45 Avenue.
According to the report presented to Council, the crossing and trail system in the area need to be upgraded for the safety of those using both.
“Currently this trail has a mid-block crossing located on 45 Avenue between 47 Street and 48 Street adjacent to Steffie Woima Elementary School. On the North side of 45 Avenue, there is vehicular access to the rear lane (alley) which requires users of the multi-use trail to cross over,” the report states.
The make this area safer for pedestrians, it is recommended to close the end of the alley to traffic and create a new turning bulb.
This would mean local access to the alleyway would be accessible only by the entrance on 46 Avenue.
By closing the north entrance to the alley, users of the trail system will not have to cross over the lane.
The plan also includes moving the mid-block crossing to align with the school’s sidewalk. Administration also plans to install rectangular rapid flash beacons and bar marking at the crossing.
Mayor Sean McIntyre said he was happy to see the report come to Council, and that input from the community, specifically those who live in the area and the school, would be considered before moving forward with the project.
In particular, McIntyre said he was in favour of the flashing lights at the pedestrian crossing.
“I think that will really be helpful, especially when coming down that road, you may not notice the crossing right away,” he said.
One consideration McIntyre asked to see it to have the cross walk line up with a sidewalk that doesn’t end a few feet later.
Based on the diagram presented, the crosswalk would line up with a short sidewalk at the school’s east side going into the staff parking lot.
For now, the project is going to move forward with stakeholder engagement, to find out how those in the area feel about the project.