The construction of traffic signals at the busy intersection of Buffalo Street and Bear Street in Banff has been pushed back.
Several projects were postponed and costs cut during capital budget discussions on Monday (Dec. 8) as council grappled with a $4.5 million capital reserve deficit for 2015, before getting it down to just over $3 million by the end of the meeting.
The $1.2 million traffic signal project aimed at alleviating downtown traffic congestion was on the capital books for next year, but it was pushed back until 2018. Council did, however, agree to spend $10,000 next year to continue to monitor the intersection.
Councillor Stavros Karlos said there have been improvements made to congestion this year, including with changes in the timing of traffic signals and one-way Bow Avenue, and postponing the traffic signals gives some breathing space to continue to assess recent changes.
“I’ve heard we’ve moved the needle. I am not saying take it out. I’m just asking to bump it down the road a bit to give everyone some breathing room,” he said.
“It’s my expectation if administration believes this is absolutely critical to optimize the system, then this will come forward again.”
The 2012 transportation master plan identifies the traffic signals at the intersection of Bear and Buffalo streets as a critical intersection which operates at over capacity during peak weekend periods.
As part of the monitoring of the intersection in the summer of 2013, it was determined that a signal is only warranted during summer weekends.
The report concluded pedestrians have a significant effect on movement of traffic at the Bear Street and Buffalo Street intersection, adding a signal will help control the irregular flow of pedestrians and improve traffic flow as well.
Mayor Karen Sorensen and Councillors Chip Olver and Brian Standish unsuccessfully tried to convince their council colleagues to get the traffic lights installed sooner rather than later, arguing it was a key recommendation of the transportation master plan.
Sorensen argued against postponing it until 2018, preferring it get postponed for a year at the very most. That would give time to assess some of the other traffic and parking management actions implemented this year into next summer.
“I believe pretty firmly in this project,” she said.
The original scope of the project was to add traffic signals on the existing intersection, but the design process revealed the intersection should be re-aligned to accommodate the appropriate number of traffic lanes and turning radiuses for larger vehicles.
The proposed scope would require entering into an agreement with Canada Post, which has indicated preliminary approval, and the Whyte Museum, to encroach on a very small portion of their land at the post office and at the library.
Adrian Field, the Town of Banff’s engineering manager, said the new alignment solves a number of issues related to tight turning movements at the intersection, as well as providing sufficient room for an additional turning lane travelling south.
“We need six signals and we need to redesign the road,” he said.
Several other capital projects were postponed beyond 2020 to bring down the capital deficit, including the third phase of Banff refreshing on the 300 block of Banff Avenue and the redevelopment of the Bow Falls view point.
The Bow Falls project was on the books for $40,000 in 2016 and $1.29 million in 2017, including resurfacing trails, installing fencing to protect vegetation, constructing a new viewing platform and installing public washrooms.
On a 4-3 vote, council also put off the Norquay Road trail project -– $50,000 in 2015 and $475,000 in 2016 – until 2018-2019. The project involves a paved pathway from Railway Avenue to the Fenlands on the east side of the Norquay Road.
Coun. Brian Standish voiced opposition to putting this project off.
“I understand the rationale behind this, but there’s an underlying issue regarding safety, and, in my world, safety trumps budget,” he said.
Parking projects to cost over $1 million, including an intercept parking lot, the fourth level of the Bear Street parkade, the extension of the Wolf Street parking lot by the Banff health unit and a downtown parkade, are all listed as no year identified.
Administration has been directed to return to council with a report for the Wolf Street parking lot extension when the parking shortfall in the downtown region exceeds 100 stalls.
In an attempt to cut costs, council also reduced the amounts allocated to both the roadway overlay program, as well as upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, by 15 per cent of the totals presented for the next five years.
By the end of the Dec. 8 budget meeting, after postponing several projects and cutting costs, the deficit for the total capital reserve balance at the end of 2015 was about $3 million.
The reserves are forecast to be in a surplus position of $2 million by the end of 2017. The financial plan states that council will ensure that capital reserves are at a positive balance within the first three years of the capital plan.
The options for council to get to a positive reserve balance were to move about $4 million worth of projects beyond 2020, or use debt financing to fund several capital projects, given borrowing costs are near historic lows.
“We are at about 50 per cent of debt capacity over the next couple of years until Cave Avenue is paid off,” said Chris Hughes, the Town of Banff’s senior accountant.
“Municipal Affairs tends to get uncomfortable when we get around 75 per cent of debt capacity.”
