ESTEVAN - Significant progress has been attained on the pathway project taking place in the City of Estevan this year, and the city expects even more work will occur before the end of 2022.
And there will be some tasks for the future as well.
Parks and facilities manager Rod March submitted a report to Estevan city council during Monday night’s meeting.
“Our priority is the earthworks prior to unfavourable weather conditions approaching. We have all of the concrete works complete, and all asphalt that can be done this year is complete,” said March.
The federal and provincial governments announced support for the project earlier this year.
A total of 13.2 kilometres of new pedestrian walkway segments have been completed, with 10.5 kilometres of asphalt pathways and 2.7 kilometres of concrete sidewalks constructed.
A washroom facility in southwest Estevan has not started yet. March said the city is in the process of retiring old utilities at the Westview site to make room for the new building.
A concrete box culvert, located over a creek in the main valley of Highway 39, has been installed. The section will need asphalt next season as it is getting too late into the fall for application.
Fifteen blue benches, to be located throughout the system, in strategic locations for view and rest points, will be installed in the fall or next spring.
Solar powered pathway lighting, which will cover three kilometres of the pathway where no other source of lighting currently exists, primarily within south section, will be the last purchase depending on finances available. Some has been purchased already to be installed this fall.
“I suspect patrons will want much more of this area illuminated; this will be recommended for future consideration in budget deliberations as well as grant opportunities,” he said.
Under Long Creek Rail line, there is a specialized passage design through a trestle to keep both pedestrians and vehicles safe. It measures 100 meters long and three metres wide, with a retaining wall and security fencing. March called the trestle “a major undertaking.”
All pathway signage is either purchased or in production for installation into November.
And an application has been made to CP Rail regarding the ongoing issues with the north Kensington crossing. They have advised the city it could be a six-month process.
“There are challenges with implementing a three-year planned project in one year with a very short construction season,” said March. “I’ve anticipated most of these challenges and we have worked diligently to overcome them.”
Mayor Roy Ludwig and other members of council said March and the management team have done a tremendous job in getting the project to this stage.
Since this project had provincial and federal funding, not all recipient requirements are known until the last minute, and this was approved in March 2021 with a short season to get everything in order.
March noted the funding agreement made it clear the city was not to start anything until a requirement of consultation with Indigenous people was met, which put the city into a June start up.
Other challenges included limited bidder submissions on major works, unknown and unsuitable subsurface materials and utilities, private land boundaries, private crossing negotiations, control points, steep locations and at times, weather delays.
“These aspects add time, money, and resources to the bottom line,” said March.
Next steps include to GPS the entire network and creating an interactive map for users to follow. This will include locations of amenities, trash receptacles, bench locations, dog waste dispensers and more.
Some specific sections will remain steep, while others will have stairs, and March said this is intentional as there is little room to navigate through some areas and people want the exercise benefits of these steeper walking sections.
March said he is working with the public works division to determine best method of winter maintenance on these areas. Considering a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling on municipal liabilities in snow clearing, March believes consideration should be given to closing specific difficult areas in the winter to avoid issues. This currently occurs with some of the existing pathways, he said.
“The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. I’ve received inquiries from organizations wanting to purchase benches and litter containers and I will work with these groups as we finalize the details.”
In 2022, he expects additional expenditures and requests from patrons wanting to add short connector sections and requests to add lighting to all areas. This is something the city can work with for sponsorship and in discussions with the new marketing manager on how this might look.
Councillor Lindsay Clark wanted to know the best way for people to inquire about sponsorships, or if someone wants a short connecting pathway.
“There has been many discussions with the public on different areas,” said March. “The original plan was 17 kilometres, which included a few little connectors here and there. My goal was two-fold. One was to make it safe for pedestrians to navigate around the city, which is why some of it is sidewalks.”
The other goal was to encompass the city.
In many cases, there are private property issues that would require the city to negotiate or lease a property.
Councillor Shelly Veroba asked about metal posts that are in place on a short, winding stretch of Fourth Avenue 麻豆传媒AV, separating the road from a pathway. Motorists are concerned they hinder traffic flow.
March said they haven’t taken away any road space. The contractor brought the pathway right to the existing street, even though separation was requested between the road and the path.
“They thought at the time there wasn’t enough room for overland water flow, so they joined it (the road and the pathway) there, and that’s why we’ve separated it now with an engineering control,” said March.
Councillor Rebecca Foord said people have asked her about the naming of the pathways. It’s something the city is working on, and she said there would be a plan.
