It appears the speed limit on Highway 28 at the west end of town will be staying at 70 km/h. A Town of Bonnyville request to decrease the speed limit to 60 km/h along a portion of the highway was rejected by Alberta Transportation last week.
It appears the speed limit on Highway 28 at the west end of town will be staying at 70 km/h.
A Town of Bonnyville request to decrease the speed limit to 60 km/h along a portion of the highway was rejected by Alberta Transportation last week.
"In reviewing the speed on Highway 28, the current speed of 70 km/h appears to be sufficient. All intersections are functioning well with only minor collision history," stated the letter sent on behalf of Ralph Gilbertson, a Maintenance Contract Inspector with the Ministry of Transportation.
Mayor Gene Sobolewski and the rest of council voiced their displeasure with the letter on Jan. 25, feeling that something still needs to be done with the road.
"I read the letter and I was fairly irate," said Sobolewski. "We were asking (Alberta Transportation) to put their manuals aside. We have a safety issue here. It is recognized. It is coming from residents and it is coming from our council. We have made motions and are being ignored."
The speed change council was calling for would have seen the strip of road running from the KFC out to the Neighbourhood Inn dropped to 60 km/h and lines painted to allow drivers to continue straight or turn in both lanes.
"We are requesting a reduction in speed for safety purposes. This matter has gone through our policing committee and it has gone through council," said Sobolewski. "They are basically ignoring us and I think we need to ramp (this discussion) up."
Council debated the traffic issue at an Oct. 13, 2015 meeting, eventually agreeing to send an official request to Alberta Transportation.
Along with a speed change, council also requested that Alberta Transportation post appropriate signage and paint lines on the highway to clearly allow drivers to continue straight or turn in both lanes. This provision was specific to the Neighbourhood Inn intersection and would include allowing vehicles to pass on the left if a car is turning right.
They also asked Alberta Transportation to look into adding passing lanes at the 58 Street intersection near Ducharme Motors and the 62 Street intersection by Best Western.
"The public has been asking us to do something about this - not only the businesses and the truckers, but the general public," said Coun. Jim Cheverie.
Council made it clear they weren't going to accept the decision made by Alberta Transportation and discussed options as to how to respond.
Eventually, they agreed to ramp up the conversation and seek out more people within Alberta Transportation to plead their case.
Council passed a motion to send a letter to the Minister of Transportation in an attempt to get their request approved.
